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S. B. No. 59 -- As Introduced
As Introduced
124th General Assembly | Regular Session | 2001-2002 |
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SENATORS Amstutz, Jacobson, Harris, Mallory
A BILL
To amend sections 1548.01, 1548.02, 1548.03, 1548.06,
1548.07, 1548.08, 1548.09, 1548.11, 1548.12,
1548.13,
1548.17, 1548.18, 1548.19, 1548.20,
4501.01,
4503.182, 4505.03,
4505.04, 4505.06,
4505.08, 4505.09,
4505.10,
4505.102, 4505.11,
4505.12, 4505.13, 4505.18,
4505.181,
4505.19,
4505.20, 4519.01, 4519.51,
4519.52, 4519.53,
4519.55, 4519.57,
4519.58,
4519.59, 4519.60,
4519.61, 4519.62, 4519.66,
4519.67, and 4519.68
and
to enact sections 1548.021, 1548.141,
4503.034, 4505.021,
4505.032, 4505.141, 4505.25,
4519.511, 4519.512, 4519.521, and 4519.631
of the
Revised Code to make changes in the
titling
processes for motor vehicles, watercraft, outboard
motors, off-highway motorcycles, and all-purpose
vehicles.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 1548.01, 1548.02, 1548.03, 1548.06,
1548.07, 1548.08, 1548.09, 1548.11, 1548.12, 1548.13, 1548.17,
1548.18, 1548.19,
1548.20, 4501.01,
4503.182, 4505.03, 4505.04,
4505.06,
4505.08,
4505.09, 4505.10, 4505.102, 4505.11, 4505.12,
4505.13,
4505.18,
4505.181, 4505.19, 4505.20, 4519.01, 4519.51,
4519.52,
4519.53, 4519.55,
4519.57, 4519.58, 4519.59, 4519.60,
4519.61,
4519.62, 4519.66, 4519.67, and
4519.68 be amended and
sections 1548.021, 1548.141,
4503.034, 4505.021, 4505.032,
4505.141,
4505.25, 4519.511,
4519.512, 4519.521, and 4519.631 of
the Revised Code be
enacted to
read as follows:
Sec. 1548.01. (A) As used in this chapter,
"electronic" and
"watercraft"
has
have the same
meaning
meanings as in section
1547.01
of the Revised Code. (B) This chapter does not apply to any of the following: (1) A watercraft covered by a marine document in effect
that
has
been assigned to it by the United States government pursuant
to federal law; (2) A watercraft from a country other than the United
States
temporarily using the waters in this state; (3) A watercraft whose owner is the United States, a
state,
or a political subdivision thereof; (4) A ship's lifeboat. As used in division (B)(4) of this
section,
"lifeboat" means a watercraft that is held aboard
another
vessel and used exclusively for emergency purposes. (6) A watercraft less than fourteen feet in length
without a
permanently affixed mechanical means of propulsion; (7) A watercraft less than fourteen feet in
length with a
permanently fixed mechanical means of propulsion of less than
ten
horsepower as determined by the manufacturer's rating; (8) Outboard motors of less than ten horsepower as
determined by the
manufacturer's rating. (C) The various certificates, applications, and
assignments
necessary to provide certificates of title for
watercraft and
outboard motors shall be made on appropriate
forms approved by the
chief of the division of watercraft.
Sec. 1548.02. The chief of the division of watercraft shall
adopt such
rules as
he
the chief considers necessary to ensure
uniform and
orderly operation of this chapter, and the clerks of
the courts of common
pleas shall conform
thereto
to those rules.
The chief shall
receive and file in
his
the chief's office all
information forwarded to
him
the
chief by the clerks under this
chapter and shall maintain indexes covering
the state at large for
that information. These indexes shall be for the state
at large
and not for individual counties. The chief shall check with
his
the chief's record all
physical duplicate
certificates of title received in
his
the
chief's office from
the clerks.
If If it appears that
a
any certificate of title has been
improperly
issued, the chief shall cancel the certificate. Upon
the cancellation of any
certificate of title, the chief shall
notify the clerk who issued it, and the
clerk shall enter the
cancellation in
his
the clerk's records.
The chief also shall
notify the person to whom the certificate of
title was issued, as
well as any lienholders appearing
thereon
on
it, of the
cancellation and,
if it is a physical certificate of
title, shall
demand the surrender of the certificate of title, but
the
cancellation shall not affect the validity of any lien noted
thereon
on it. The
holder of
the
a physical certificate of title
shall return it to
the chief immediately.
The The clerks shall keep on hand a sufficient supply of blank
forms that,
except
certificate of title and memorandum certificate
forms, shall be furnished and
distributed without charge to
registered manufacturers or dealers or to other
persons residing
within the county. The clerks shall provide the certificates
of
title, the ribbons for data processing, and removable backup media
from
moneys provided to the clerks from the automated title
processing fund in
accordance with division (B)(3)(b) of section
4505.09 of the Revised Code.
The clerks shall furnish all other
supplies from other moneys available to the
clerks.
Sec. 1548.021. The owner of a watercraft or outboard motor
shall apply for
a
certificate of title for the watercraft or
outboard motor when required by
this
chapter, but, except as
otherwise specifically required in this chapter, the
owner may
elect whether or not to have the clerk of the court of
common
pleas to whom the certificate of title application is
submitted
issue a physical certificate of title for the watercraft or
outboard
motor, as provided in section 1548.09 of the Revised
Code. Except as otherwise specifically provided in this chapter,
any provision of
this chapter relating to the cancellation,
issuance, or surrender of a
certificate of title, including, but
not limited to, provisions
that contain a phrase such as
"when a
certificate of title is
issued,"
"the clerk shall issue a
certificate of title," or
"the
person shall obtain a certificate
of title to the watercraft or outboard
motor,"
or another phrase
of similar import, shall include those
circumstances when a clerk
enters certificate of title information
into the automated title
processing system, but does not take any
further action relating
to
a physical certificate of title for the
watercraft or outboard
motor.
Sec. 1548.03. No person, except as provided in section
1548.05 of the Revised
Code, shall sell or
otherwise dispose of a
watercraft or outboard motor
without
delivering to the purchaser
or transferee
thereof a
physical
certificate of
title with
such
an
assignment
thereon
on it as is
necessary to show title in the
purchaser
or transferee; nor shall
any person purchase or
otherwise
acquire a watercraft or
outboard
motor without obtaining
a certificate of title for it in
his
the
person's name in
accordance with
Chapter 1548. of the Revised Code
this chapter;
however, a purchaser may
take possession of and
operate a
watercraft or outboard motor on the waters in
this state
without a
certificate of title for a period not exceeding thirty
days if
he
the purchaser has been issued and has in
his
the
purchaser's
possession a dealer's dated bill of
sale, or, in the
case of a
casual sale, a notarized bill of
sale.
Sec. 1548.06. Application for a certificate of title for a
watercraft or outboard motor shall be made upon a form prescribed
by the chief of the division of watercraft
and shall be sworn to
before a notary public or other officer empowered to administer
oaths. The application shall be filed with the clerk of
the
any
court of common pleas
of the county in which the applicant
resides
if the applicant is a resident of this state or, if not a
resident, in the county in which the transaction is consummated.
An application for a certificate of title may be filed
electronically by any electronic means approved by the chief in
any county with the clerk of the court of common pleas of that
county.
The application shall be accompanied by the fee prescribed
in
section 1548.10 of the Revised Code, and if. The fee shall be
retained by the clerk who issues the certificate of title and
shall be distributed in accordance with that section. If a clerk
of a court of common pleas, other than the clerk of the court of
common pleas of an applicant's county of residence, issues a
certificate of title to the applicant, the clerk shall transmit
data related to the transaction to the database of the automated
data processing system in the office of the clerk of the court of
common pleas of the applicant's county of residence. If a certificate of
title previously has been issued for the
watercraft or outboard
motor,
it
the application for a certificate
of title also shall be accompanied by the certificate of title
duly
assigned unless otherwise provided in this chapter. If a
certificate of title previously has not been issued for the
watercraft or outboard motor in this state, the application,
unless otherwise provided in this chapter, shall be accompanied
by
a manufacturer's or importer's certificate; by a sworn
statement
of ownership if the watercraft or outboard motor was
purchased by
the applicant on or before
October 9, 1963,
or if the watercraft
is less than fourteen feet long with
a permanently affixed
mechanical means of propulsion and was
purchased by the applicant
on or before
January 1,
2000;
or by a certificate of title, bill
of sale, or
other evidence of ownership required by the law of
another state
from which the watercraft or outboard motor was
brought into
this state. Evidence of ownership of a watercraft or
outboard
motor for which an Ohio certificate of title previously
has not
been issued and which watercraft or outboard motor does
not have
permanently affixed thereto a manufacturer's serial
number shall
be accompanied by the certificate of assignment of a
hull
identification number assigned by
the chief as provided in
section
1548.07 of the Revised Code.
The clerk shall retain the evidence
of title presented by the
applicant and on which the certificate
of title is issued. The
clerk shall use reasonable diligence in
ascertaining whether the
facts in the application are true
by checking the application and
documents accompanying it with
the records of watercraft and
outboard motors in the clerk's
office. If
the clerk is satisfied
that the
applicant is the owner of the watercraft or
outboard
motor and
that the application is in the proper form,
the clerk
shall issue
a
physical certificate of title over the
clerk's
signature and sealed with
the clerk's seal
unless the applicant
specifically requests the clerk not to issue a physical
certificate of title and instead to issue an electronic
certificate of title.
However, if the evidence indicates and an
investigation
shows that one or more Ohio
titles already exist for
the watercraft or outboard motor, the
chief may cause the
redundant title or titles to be
canceled. In the case of the sale of a watercraft or outboard motor
by
a vendor to a general purchaser or user, the certificate of
title
shall be obtained in the name of the purchaser by the
vendor upon
application signed by the purchaser. In all other
cases the
certificate shall be obtained by the purchaser. In
all cases of
transfer of watercraft or outboard motors, the
application for
certificate of title shall be filed within thirty
days after the
later of the date of purchase or assignment of
ownership of the
watercraft or outboard motor. If the
application for certificate
of title is not filed within thirty
days after the later of the
date of purchase or assignment of
ownership of the watercraft or
outboard motor, the clerk shall
charge a late penalty fee of five
dollars in addition to the fee
prescribed by section 1548.10 of
the Revised Code. The clerk
shall retain the entire amount of
each late penalty fee. The clerk shall refuse to accept an application for
certificate of title unless the applicant either tenders with the
application payment of all taxes levied by or pursuant to Chapter
5739. or 5741. of the Revised Code
based on the applicant's county
of residence less, in the case of a sale
by a vendor, any discount
to which the vendor is entitled under
section 5739.12 of the
Revised Code, or submits any of the
following: (A) A receipt issued by the tax commissioner or a clerk of
courts showing payment of the tax; (B) A copy of the unit certificate of exemption completed
by
the purchaser at the time of sale as provided in section
5739.03
of the Revised Code; (C) An exemption certificate, in a form prescribed by the
tax commissioner, that specifies why the purchase is not subject
to the tax imposed by Chapter 5739. or 5741. of the Revised Code. Payment of the tax shall be in accordance with rules issued
by the tax commissioner, and the clerk shall issue a receipt in
the form prescribed by the tax commissioner to any applicant who
tenders payment of the tax with the application for
registration
the certificate
of title. For receiving and disbursing the taxes paid to the clerk,
the
clerk may retain a poundage
fee of one per cent of the taxes
collected, which shall be paid
into the general fund of the
county. In the case of casual sales of watercraft or outboard
motors
that are subject to the tax imposed by Chapter 5739. or
5741. of
the Revised Code, the purchase price for the purpose of
determining the tax shall be the purchase price on an affidavit
executed and filed with the clerk by the vendor on a form to be
prescribed by the chief, which
shall be prima-facie evidence of
the price for the determination
of the tax. In addition to the
information required by section
1548.08 of the Revised Code, each
certificate of title shall
contain in bold lettering the following
notification and
statements:
"WARNING TO TRANSFEROR AND
TRANSFEREE
(SELLER AND
BUYER). You
are required by law to state
the true
selling price. A false statement is a
violation of
section
2921.13 of the Revised Code and is punishable by six
months
imprisonment or a fine of up to one thousand dollars, or
both.
All
transfers are audited by the department of taxation.
The
seller
and buyer must provide any information requested by the
department
of
taxation. The buyer may be assessed any additional
tax found
to be due." The clerk shall forward all payments of taxes, less
poundage
fees, to the treasurer of state in a manner to be
prescribed by
the tax commissioner and shall furnish
such
information to the
commissioner as the commissioner may require. For purposes
of a
transfer of a certificate of title, if the clerk is satisfied that
a
secured party has discharged a lien, but has not canceled the
lien notation
with the clerk of the county of origin, the clerk
may cancel
the lien notation on the
automated title processing
system and notify the clerk of the county of
origin.
Every clerk shall have the capability to transact by
electronic means all procedures and transactions relating to the
issuance of watercraft or outboard motor certificates of title
that are described in the Revised Code as being accomplished by
electronic means.
Sec. 1548.07. (A) An application for a certificate of title
shall
be sworn to before a notary public or other officer
empowered to administer oaths by the lawful owner or purchaser of
the watercraft or outboard motor and shall contain the following
information in the form
and, together with any other
information,
that the chief of the division of watercraft may require: (1) Name, address, and social security number or
employer's
tax identification number of the applicant; (2) Statement of how the watercraft or outboard motor was
acquired; (3) Name and address of the previous owner; (4) A statement of all liens, mortgages, or other
encumbrances on the watercraft or outboard motor, including a
description of the nature and amount of each lien, mortgage, or
encumbrance, and the name and address of each holder
thereof
of
each
lien, mortgage, or encumbrance; (5) If there are no outstanding liens, mortgages, or other
encumbrances, a statement of that fact; (6) A description of the watercraft, including the make,
year, length, series or model, if any, body type, hull
identification number or
hull identification number serial number,
and
make, manufacturer's
serial number, and horsepower of any
inboard motor or motors; or
a description of the outboard motor,
including the make, year,
series or model, if any, manufacturer's
serial number, and
horsepower; (G)(7) The purchase price, trade-in allowed, and amount of
sales or use tax paid under Chapter 5739. or 5741. of the Revised
Code.
(B) If the application is made by two persons regarding a
watercraft or outboard motor in which they wish to establish
joint
ownership with right of survivorship, they may do so as
provided
in section 2106.17 of the Revised Code. (C) If the watercraft or outboard motor contains a
permanent
identification number placed
thereon
on it by the
manufacturer,
this number shall be used as the serial number or
hull
identification number. If there is no manufacturer's
identification number, or if the manufacturer's identification
number has been removed or obliterated, the chief, upon receipt
of
a prescribed application and proof of ownership, may assign an
identification number for the watercraft or outboard motor, and
this number shall be permanently affixed or imprinted by the
applicant, at the place and in the manner designated by the
chief,
upon the watercraft or outboard motor for which it is
assigned.
Sec. 1548.08.
The
When the clerk of
the
a court
of common
pleas
issues a physical certificate of title for a watercraft or
outboard motor, the clerk shall
issue
certificates of title for
watercraft and outboard motors
it
over
his
the clerk's official
seal.
The
All
physical certificates
of title to watercraft or
outboard motors
shall
contain the
information required in the
application for
the certificate of
title,
them as prescribed by
section 1548.07 of the Revised Code,
as
well as spaces for the
dates of notation and cancellation of each
lien, mortgage, or
encumbrance, over the signature of the clerk. If
the
any
certificate of title is issued for a watercraft or
outboard motor
in which two persons are establishing joint
ownership with right
of survivorship under section 2106.17 of the
Revised Code, the
certificate, in addition to the information
required by this
section, shall show that the two persons have
established joint
ownership with right of survivorship in the
watercraft or outboard
motor.
An An assignment of certificate of
title
before a notary public
or other officer empowered to
administer oaths shall appear on the
reverse side of each
physical
certificate of title in the form to
be prescribed by the chief of
the division of watercraft. Such
assignment form shall include a
warranty that the signer is the
owner of the watercraft or
outboard motor and that there are no
mortgages, liens, or
encumbrances on the watercraft or outboard
motor except as are
noted on the face of the certificate of title.
Sec. 1548.09.
The
When the clerk of
the
a court
of common
pleas
issues a physical certificate of title, the clerk shall
issue
certificates
the certificate
of title in duplicate. One
copy shall be retained and filed by
the clerk in the clerk's
office, and the information
contained in it shall be transmitted
on the day it
is issued to the
chief of the division of
watercraft. The clerk shall sign and affix
the clerk's seal
to
the original certificate of title and, if there are no liens on
the
watercraft or outboard motor, shall deliver the certificate to
the applicant.
If there are one or more liens on the watercraft
or outboard motor, the
clerk shall deliver the certificate of
title to the holder of the first lien. The chief shall approve a uniform method of numbering
certificates of title.
The numbering shall be in such manner that
the county of issuance is
indicated. Numbers shall be assigned to
certificates of title in the
manner approved by the chief. The
clerk shall file all certificates of
title according to policies
prescribed by the chief, and the clerk
shall maintain in the
clerk's office indexes for the
certificates of title. The clerk need not retain on file any certificate of title,
duplicate certificate of title,
or memorandum certificate of
title, or
supporting evidence
thereof
of them, covering any
watercraft or outboard motor for a
period longer than seven years
after the date of its filing;
thereafter, the
certificate and
supporting information may
be destroyed. The clerk shall issue a
duplicate title, when
duly applied for, of any title that has been
destroyed as provided in this
section. The clerk shall issue a physical certificate of title to an
applicant unless the applicant specifically requests the clerk not
to issue a
physical certificate of title and instead to issue an
electronic certificate
of title.
The fact that a physical
certificate of title is
not issued for a watercraft or outboard
motor does not affect ownership of the
watercraft or outboard
motor. In that case, when the clerk completes the
process of
entering certificate of title application information into the
automated title processing system, the effect of the completion of
the process is the same as if the clerk actually issued a physical
certificate of title for the watercraft or outboard motor.
Sec. 1548.11. (A) In the event of the transfer of
ownership
of a watercraft or outboard motor by operation of law,
as upon
inheritance, devise, bequest, order in bankruptcy,
insolvency,
replevin, or execution of sale, or whenever the
engine of a
watercraft is replaced by another engine, or whenever
a watercraft
or outboard motor is sold to satisfy storage or
repair charges, or
repossession is had upon default in
performance of the terms of a
security agreement as provided in
sections 1309.01 to 1309.50
Chapter 1309. of the Revised Code,
the
a clerk of
the
a court of
common pleas
of the county in which the last certificate
of title
to the watercraft or outboard motor was issued, upon the
surrender
of the prior certificate of title or the manufacturer's
or
importer's certificate, or, when that is not possible, upon
presentation of satisfactory proof to the clerk of ownership and
rights of possession to the watercraft or outboard motor,
and
upon
payment of the fee prescribed in section 1548.10 of the
Revised
Code and presentation of an application for certificate
of title,
may issue to the applicant a certificate of title to
the
watercraft or outboard motor. Only an affidavit by the
person or
agent of the person to whom possession of the
watercraft or
outboard motor has passed, setting forth the facts
entitling the
person to possession and
ownership,
together with a
copy of the
journal entry, court order, or instrument upon which
the claim of
possession and ownership is founded, is
satisfactory proof of
ownership and right of possession. If the
applicant cannot
produce such proof of ownership, the
applicant may apply
directly
to the chief of the division of watercraft and submit
such
evidence as the applicant has, and the chief,
if the chief finds
the evidence sufficient, may
authorize the clerk to issue
a
certificate of title. If, from the records in the office of
the
clerk, there appears to be any lien on the watercraft
or
outboard
motor, the certificate of title shall contain a
statement of the
lien unless the
application is
accompanied by
proper evidence of
its extinction. (B) Upon the death of one of the persons who have
established joint ownership with right of survivorship under
section 2106.17 of the Revised Code in a watercraft or outboard
motor and the presentation to the clerk of the title and the
certificate of death of the deceased person, the clerk shall
enter
into the records the transfer of the
watercraft or outboard
motor
to the surviving person, and the title to the watercraft or
outboard motor immediately passes to the surviving person. The
transfer does not affect any liens on the watercraft or outboard
motor. (C) The clerk shall transfer a decedent's interest in one
watercraft, one outboard motor, or one of each to the decedent's
surviving
spouse as provided in section 2106.19 of the Revised
Code.
Sec. 1548.12. Each owner of a watercraft or outboard motor
and each person
mentioned as owner in the last certificate of
title, when
such
the watercraft or
outboard motor is dismantled,
destroyed, or changed in such manner that it
loses its character
as a watercraft or outboard motor, or changed in such
manner that
it is not the watercraft or outboard motor described in the
certificate of title, shall surrender
his
the certificate of
title
to
the
a clerk of
the
a court of common pleas
who issued it, and
thereupon the clerk
shall, with
the consent of any holders of any
liens noted
thereon
on the certificate of title,
then shall enter
a cancellation
upon
his
the clerk's records and shall notify the
chief of the
division of watercraft of
such
the cancellation. Upon the cancellation of a certificate of title in the manner
prescribed by
this section, the clerk and the chief may cancel and
destroy all certificates
and all memorandum certificates in that
chain of title.
Sec. 1548.13. In the event of a lost or destroyed
certificate of title,
application shall be made to
the
a clerk of
the
a court of common pleas
of the
county where such certificate
of title was issued, by the owner of
such
the watercraft or
outboard motor, or the holder of a lien
thereon
on it, for a
certified
copy of
such
the certificate upon a form prescribed by
the chief of the division
of watercraft and accompanied by the fee
prescribed by section 1548.10 of the
Revised Code.
Such
The
application shall be signed and sworn to by the person
making the
same. Thereupon
application, and the clerk shall issue a
certified copy of
such
the certificate of title to the person
entitled to receive it under
Chapter 1548.
of the Revised Code
this chapter.
Such
The certified copy shall be plainly marked
across its
face with the word
"duplicate," and any subsequent
purchaser of
such
the watercraft or outboard motor in the chain of
title originating through
such
the certified copy acquires only
such rights in the watercraft or outboard motor
as
the original
holder of the certified copy
himself had. Any purchaser
of
such
the
watercraft or outboard motor
may, at the time of purchase, may
require the seller of
the same to indemnify
him
the purchaser and
all subsequent
purchasers of
such
the watercraft or outboard motor
against any loss
which
he
that the purchaser or
they
any
subsequent purchaser
may suffer by reason of any claim presented
upon the original certificate. In
the event of the recovery of
the original certificate of title by
said
the owner,
he
the owner
shall
forthwith surrender
same
it immediately to the clerk for
cancellation. The holder of a certificate of title for a watercraft or
outboard motor upon
which is noted an existing lien, encumbrance,
or mortgage, may any time make
application to
the
a clerk
who
issued the certificate of title for a memorandum
certificate,
which
form shall be made in the form prescribed by the chief and
signed and sworn to by the applicant. Upon receipt of
such
the
application, if it
appears to be regular, together with the fee
prescribed by section 1548.10 of
the Revised Code, the clerk shall
issue to
such
the applicant a memorandum
certificate for the
watercraft or outboard motor.
In the event such
If the memorandum
certificate is lost or destroyed, the holder
thereof
of it may
obtain a
certified copy of
the same
it on a form prescribed by the
chief
and, accompanied
by the fee prescribed in section 1548.10 of
the Revised Code. In the event of
the recovery of the original
memorandum certificate by the owner,
he
the owner
shall
forthwith
surrender
the same
it immediately to the clerk for cancellation.
Such
a memorandum
certificate is not assignable and constitutes no
evidence of title or of right
to transfer or encumber the
watercraft or outboard motor described
therein
in it.
Sec. 1548.141. (A) The chief of the division of watercraft
shall
enable
the
public to access watercraft and outboard motor
title information via
electronic means.
The chief, in accordance
with Chapter 119. of the
Revised
Code, shall adopt rules governing
this access. In adopting these
rules, the chief shall confer with
the clerks of the courts of common
pleas. (B) The rules adopted under division (A) of this section
shall require the payment of the fees prescribed in section
1548.14 of the
Revised Code, if a person is seeking access via
electronic
means to watercraft or outboard motor title information
as described in that
section.
Sec. 1548.17. Every peace officer, sheriff, watercraft
officer, division of parks and recreation officer, division of
wildlife officer, conservancy district officer, constable, or
state highway patrol trooper, having knowledge of a stolen
watercraft or outboard motor, shall immediately furnish the chief
of the division of watercraft with full information concerning
such
the theft. The chief, whenever
he receives a report of the theft or
conversion of a watercraft or outboard motor
is received, shall
make a
distinctive record
thereof
of it, including the make of the
stolen
watercraft or outboard motor and its manufacturer's or
assigned
serial number, and shall file the
same
record in the
numerical
order of
the manufacturer's or assigned serial number
with the index
records of the watercraft or outboard motors of
such make. The
chief shall prepare a report listing watercraft
and outboard
motors stolen and recovered as disclosed by the
reports submitted
to
him
the chief, to be distributed as
he
the
chief deems advisable. In the event of the receipt from any clerk of
the
a court of
common pleas of a copy of a
physical certificate of title to such
a
watercraft or outboard motor, the chief shall immediately notify
the rightful owner
thereof
of the watercraft or outboard motor
and
the clerk who issued
such
its physical
certificate of title, and
if, upon investigation, it appears that
such
the physical
certificate of title was improperly issued,
the chief shall
immediately cancel
the same
it. In the event of the recovery of a stolen or converted
watercraft or outboard motor, the owner shall immediately notify
the chief, who shall remove the record of the theft or conversion
from
his
the chief's file.
Sec. 1548.18. No person shall
do any of the following: (A) Operate in this state a watercraft for which a
certificate of title is
required or
a watercraft powered by an
outboard motor for which a certificate of
title is required
without having
such
the certificate, or a
valid temporary permit
and number, in accordance with
Chapter 1548. of the Revised Code
this chapter or, if a physical certificate of title has not been
issued
for it, operate the watercraft or outboard motor in this
state knowing that
the ownership information relating to the
watercraft or outboard motor has not
been entered into the
automated data processing system by a clerk of a court
of common
pleas; (B) Operate in this state a watercraft for which a
certificate of title is
required or
a watercraft powered by an
outboard motor for which a certificate of
title is required upon
which the certificate of title has been canceled; (C) Fail to surrender any certificate of title upon
cancellation of
the
same
it
by the chief of the division of
watercraft and notice
thereof
of the
cancellation as prescribed in
Chapter 1548. of the Revised Code
this chapter; (D) Fail to surrender the certificate of title to
the
a
clerk
of
the
a court of
common pleas as provided in
Chapter 1548.
of the Revised Code
this
chapter, in case of the
destruction or
dismantling or change of a watercraft or outboard motor in such
respect that it is not the watercraft or outboard motor described
in the
certificate of title; (E) Violate
sections 1548.01 to 1548.21 of the Revised Code,
any
provision of this chapter for which no
penalty is otherwise
provided, or any lawful rules
or regulations promulgated
adopted
pursuant
to
such sections
this chapter; (F) Operate in this state a watercraft or outboard motor
knowing
that the certificate of title to or ownership of the
watercraft or outboard
motor as otherwise
reflected in the
automated title processing system has been canceled.
Sec. 1548.19. No person shall
do any of the following: (A) Procure or attempt to procure a certificate of title
to
a watercraft or outboard motor, or pass or attempt to pass a
certificate of title or any assignment thereof to a watercraft or
outboard motor,
or in any manner gain or attempt to gain ownership
by any
means, knowing or having reason to believe that
such
the
watercraft or outboard motor has been stolen; (B) Sell or offer for sale in this state a watercraft or
outboard motor on which the manufacturer's or assigned serial
number has been destroyed, removed, covered, altered, or defaced
with knowledge of
such
the destruction, removal, covering,
alteration, or defacement of
such
the manufacturer's or assigned
serial number; (C) Sell or transfer a watercraft or outboard motor
without
delivering to the purchaser or transferee
thereof
of it
a
certificate of title, or a manufacturer's or importer's
certificate
thereto
to it, assigned to
such
the purchaser as
provided
for
in
such sections
this chapter, except as otherwise
provided in
this
chapter.
Sec. 1548.20. Chapter 1309. of the Revised Code does
not
permit or require the deposit, filing, or other records of a
security
interest covering a watercraft or outboard motor for
which a certificate of
title is required. Any security agreement
covering a security interest in a
watercraft or outboard motor, if
it is accompanied by delivery of
a manufacturer's or importer's
certificate and followed by actual and
continued possession of
that certificate by the holder of the instrument, or,
in the case
of a certificate of title, if a notation of the instrument has
been made by
the
a clerk of
the
a court of common pleas on the
face of
the
certificate, shall be valid as against the creditors
of the
debtor, whether
armed with process or not, and against
subsequent
purchasers, secured parties,
and other lienholders or
claimants.
All liens, mortgages, and encumbrances
noted upon a
certificate of
title shall take priority according to the order
of
time in which
they are noted thereon by the clerk. Exposure for
sale
of any
watercraft or outboard motor by its owner, with the
knowledge
or
with the knowledge and consent of the holder of any
lien,
mortgage, or
encumbrance thereon, shall not render the lien,
mortgage, or encumbrance
ineffective as against the creditors of
the owner or against holders of
subsequent liens, mortgages, or
encumbrances upon the watercraft or outboard
motor. If the secured party presents the security agreement to
the
a
clerk of
the
a court of common pleas
of the county in which the
certificate of title was
issued together with the certificate of
title, if a physical certificate of title for the watercraft or
outboard motor exists, and the fee prescribed by
section 1548.10
of the
Revised
Code, the clerk, unless the secured party
specifically requests the clerk not to issue a physical
certificate of title, shall issue a new original certificate of
title
from
the
automated title processing records. The new
certificate
shall indicate the
lien or security interest and the
date of that
encumbrance. The clerk also
shall note the lien or
security
interest and the date
thereof in
his
the clerk's files
and on that
day shall notify
the
chief of the division of
watercraft. The
clerk shall
indicate by appropriate notation on
the agreement
itself the fact that the
lien or security interest
has been noted
on the certificate of title. When the lien or security interest is discharged, the holder
thereof shall
note the discharge over
his
the holder's signature
on the face
of the certificate of title,
or, if there is not
sufficient space for the notation on the face of the
title,
he
the
holder shall note the discharge on a form prescribed
by the chief.
Prior
to delivering the certificate to the owner, the holder or
his
the
holder's agent shall
present it and any additional
information the chief requires to the clerk for
the purpose of
having the clerk note the discharge of the lien or security
interest on the face of the certificate of title and upon the
records of the
clerk. If the discharge appears to be genuine, the
clerk shall note
it on the certificate of title, and
he
the clerk
also shall note
the discharge on
his
the clerk's records and
notify the chief,
who shall note the discharge.
Sec. 4501.01. As used in this chapter and Chapters 4503.,
4505., 4507., 4509., 4511., 4513., 4515., and 4517. of the
Revised
Code, and in the penal laws, except as otherwise
provided: (A)
"Vehicles" means everything on wheels or runners,
including motorized bicycles, but does not mean vehicles that are
operated
exclusively on rails or tracks or from overhead electric
trolley
wires and vehicles that belong to any police department,
municipal
fire department, or volunteer fire department, or that
are used by such
a department in the discharge of its functions. (B)
"Motor vehicle" means any vehicle, including
mobile
homes
and recreational vehicles, that is
propelled or drawn
by
power
other than muscular power or power collected from
overhead
electric trolley wires.
"Motor
vehicle" does not include
motorized
bicycles, road
rollers, traction engines, power shovels,
power
cranes, and other
equipment used in construction work and
not
designed for or
employed in general highway transportation,
well-drilling
machinery, ditch-digging machinery, farm machinery,
trailers that are used
to transport agricultural produce or
agricultural production
materials between a local place of storage
or supply and the farm
when drawn or towed on a public road or
highway at a speed of
twenty-five miles per hour or less,
threshing machinery,
hay-baling machinery, corn sheller,
hammermill and agricultural
tractors, machinery used in the
production of horticultural,
agricultural, and vegetable products,
and trailers that are designed and
used exclusively to transport a
boat between a place of storage
and a marina, or in and around a
marina, when drawn or towed on a
public road or highway for a
distance of no more than ten miles
and at a speed of twenty-five
miles per hour or less. (C)
"Agricultural tractor" and
"traction engine" mean any
self-propelling vehicle that is designed or used for drawing other
vehicles or wheeled machinery, but has no provisions for
carrying
loads independently of such other vehicles, and that is used
principally for agricultural purposes. (D)
"Commercial tractor," except as defined in division (C)
of this section, means any motor vehicle that has motive power
and
either is designed or used for drawing other motor vehicles, or is
designed or
used for drawing another motor vehicle while carrying
a portion
of the other motor vehicle or its load, or both. (E)
"Passenger car" means any motor vehicle that is designed
and
used for carrying not more than nine persons and includes any
motor
vehicle that is designed and used for carrying not more than
fifteen
persons in a ridesharing arrangement. (F)
"Collector's vehicle" means any motor vehicle or
agricultural tractor or traction engine that is of special
interest,
that has a fair market value of one hundred dollars or
more,
whether operable or not, and that is owned, operated,
collected,
preserved, restored, maintained, or used essentially as
a
collector's item, leisure pursuit, or investment, but not as the
owner's principal means of transportation.
"Licensed collector's
vehicle" means a collector's vehicle, other than an agricultural
tractor or traction engine, that displays current, valid license
tags issued under section 4503.45 of the Revised Code, or a
similar type of motor vehicle that displays current, valid
license
tags issued under substantially equivalent provisions in
the laws
of other states. (G)
"Historical motor vehicle" means any motor vehicle
that
is over twenty-five years old and is owned solely as a
collector's
item and for participation in club activities,
exhibitions, tours,
parades, and similar uses, but that in no event is used
for
general transportation. (H)
"Noncommercial motor vehicle" means any motor vehicle,
including a farm truck as defined in section 4503.04 of the
Revised Code, that is designed by the manufacturer to carry a load
of no
more than one ton and is used exclusively for purposes other
than
engaging in business for profit. (I)
"Bus" means any motor vehicle that has motor power
and
is
designed and used for carrying more than nine passengers,
except
any motor vehicle that is designed and used for carrying
not more
than
fifteen passengers in a ridesharing arrangement. (J)
"Commercial car" or
"truck" means any motor vehicle that
has motor
power and is designed and used for carrying merchandise
or freight, or
that is used as a commercial tractor. (K)
"Bicycle" means every device, other than a tricycle
that
is
designed solely for use as a play vehicle by a child, that is
propelled
solely by human power upon which any person may ride,
and that has either two
tandem wheels, or one wheel in front and
two wheels in
the rear, any of which is more than fourteen inches
in diameter. (L)
"Motorized bicycle" means any vehicle that either has
two
tandem wheels or one wheel in the front and two wheels in
the
rear, that is capable of being pedaled, and that is equipped with
a
helper motor of not more than fifty cubic centimeters piston
displacement that produces no more than one brake horsepower and
is capable of propelling the vehicle at a speed of no greater
than
twenty miles per hour on a level surface. (M)
"Trailer" means any vehicle without motive power
that is
designed or used for carrying property or persons wholly on its
own structure and for being drawn by a motor vehicle, and
includes
any such vehicle that is formed by or operated as a
combination of
a semitrailer and a vehicle of the dolly type such
as that
commonly known as a trailer dolly, a vehicle used to
transport
agricultural produce or agricultural production
materials between
a local place of storage or supply and the farm
when drawn or
towed on a public road or highway at a speed
greater than
twenty-five miles per hour, and a vehicle that is designed
and
used exclusively to transport a boat between a place of
storage
and a marina, or in and around a marina, when drawn or
towed on a
public road or highway for a distance of more than ten
miles or at
a speed of more than twenty-five miles per hour.
"Trailer" does
not include a manufactured home or travel trailer. (N)
"Noncommercial trailer" means any trailer, except a
travel trailer or trailer that is used to transport a boat as
described
in division (B) of this section, but, where applicable,
includes
a vehicle that is used to transport a boat as described
in division (M)
of this section, that has a gross weight of no
more than three
thousand pounds, and that is used exclusively for
purposes other than
engaging in business for a profit. (O)
"Mobile home" means a building
unit or assembly of
closed
construction that is fabricated in an off-site
facility, is
more
than thirty-five body
feet in length or, when erected on
site, is
three hundred
twenty or more square feet, is built on a
permanent
chassis, is
transportable in one or more sections, and
does not
qualify as
a manufactured home as defined in division
(C)(4) of
section 3781.06
of the Revised Code or as an
industrialized unit
as defined in division (C)(3)
of section
3781.06 of the Revised
Code. (P)
"Semitrailer" means any vehicle of the trailer type
that
does not have motive power and is so designed or used with another
and
separate motor vehicle that in operation a part of its own
weight
or that of its load, or both, rests upon and is carried by
the other vehicle
furnishing the motive power for propelling
itself
and the vehicle referred to in this division, and includes,
for
the purpose only of registration and taxation under those
chapters, any
vehicle of the dolly type, such as a trailer dolly,
that is designed or used for the conversion of a semitrailer into
a
trailer. (Q)
"Recreational vehicle" means a vehicular portable
structure that meets all of the following conditions: (1) It is designed
for the sole purpose of recreational
travel. (2) It is not used for the purpose of engaging in business
for profit. (3) It is not used for the purpose of engaging in intrastate
commerce. (4) It is not used for the purpose of commerce as defined in
49 C.F.R. 383.5,
as amended. (5) It is not regulated by the public utilities commission
pursuant to
Chapter 4919., 4921., or 4923. of the Revised Code. (6) It is classed as one of the following: (a)
"Travel trailer" means a nonself-propelled
recreational
vehicle that does not exceed an overall length of
thirty-five
feet, exclusive of bumper and tongue or coupling, and
contains
less than three hundred twenty square feet of space when erected
on site.
"Travel trailer"
includes a tent-type fold-out camping
trailer as defined in
section 4517.01 of the Revised Code. (b)
"Motor home" means a self-propelled recreational
vehicle
that has no fifth wheel and is constructed with permanently
installed
facilities for
cold storage, cooking and consuming of
food, and for sleeping. (c)
"Truck camper" means a nonself-propelled recreational
vehicle that does not have wheels for road use and is designed to
be placed
upon and attached to a motor vehicle.
"Truck camper"
does not
include truck covers that consist of walls and a roof,
but do not
have floors and facilities enabling them to be used as
a dwelling. (d)
"Fifth wheel trailer" means a vehicle that is of such
size and weight as
to be movable without a special highway permit,
that has a gross trailer area
of four hundred square feet or less,
that is constructed with a raised forward
section that allows a
bi-level floor plan, and that is designed to be towed by
a vehicle
equipped with a fifth-wheel hitch ordinarily installed in the bed
of
a truck. (e)
"Park trailer" means a vehicle that is commonly known as
a park model
recreational vehicle, meets the American national
standard institute standard
A119.5 (1988) for park trailers, is
built on a single chassis, has a gross
trailer area of four
hundred square feet or less when set up, is designed for
seasonal
or temporary living quarters, and may be connected to utilities
necessary for the operation of installed features and appliances. (R)
"Pneumatic tires" means tires of rubber and fabric or
tires of similar material, that are inflated with air. (S)
"Solid tires" means tires of rubber or similar elastic
material that are not dependent upon confined air for support of
the load. (T)
"Solid tire vehicle" means any vehicle that is equipped
with
two or more solid tires. (U)
"Farm machinery" means all machines and tools that are
used in
the production, harvesting, and care of farm products, and
includes trailers
that are used to transport agricultural produce
or agricultural
production materials between a local place of
storage or supply
and the farm when drawn or towed on a public
road or highway at a
speed of twenty-five miles per hour or less. (V)
"Owner" includes any person,
or firm, or corporation
other
than a manufacturer or dealer that has title to a motor
vehicle,
except that in sections 4505.01 to 4505.19 of the
Revised
Code,
"owner" includes in addition manufacturers and dealers. (W)
"Manufacturer" and
"dealer" include all persons,
and
firms,
and corporations that are regularly engaged in the business
of
manufacturing, selling, displaying, offering for sale, or
dealing
in motor vehicles, at an established place of business
that is
used exclusively for the purpose of manufacturing,
selling,
displaying, offering for sale, or dealing in motor
vehicles. A
place of business that is used for manufacturing,
selling,
displaying, offering for sale, or dealing in motor
vehicles shall
be deemed to be used exclusively for those purposes
even though
snowmobiles or all-purpose vehicles are sold or
displayed for
sale
thereat, even though farm machinery is sold or
displayed for
sale
thereat, or even though repair, accessory,
gasoline and oil,
storage, parts, service, or paint departments
are maintained
thereat, or, in any county having a population of
less than
seventy-five thousand
persons at the last federal
census, even
though a department in a place of business is used to
dismantle,
salvage, or rebuild motor vehicles by means of used
parts, if
such
departments are operated for the purpose of
furthering and
assisting in the business of manufacturing,
selling, displaying,
offering for sale, or dealing in motor
vehicles. Places of
business or departments in a place of
business used to
dismantle,
salvage, or rebuild motor vehicles by
means of using
used parts
are not considered as being maintained
for the purpose
of
assisting or furthering the manufacturing,
selling,
displaying,
and offering for sale or dealing in motor
vehicles. (X)
"Operator" includes any person who drives or operates
a
motor vehicle upon the public highways. (Y)
"Chauffeur" means any operator who operates a motor
vehicle, other than a taxicab, as an employee for hire; or any
operator whether or not the owner of a motor vehicle, other than
a
taxicab, who operates such vehicle for transporting, for gain,
compensation, or profit, either persons or property owned by
another. Any operator of a motor vehicle who is voluntarily
involved in
a ridesharing arrangement is not considered an
employee for hire
or operating such vehicle for gain,
compensation, or profit. (Z)
"State" includes the territories and federal districts
of
the United States, and the provinces of Canada. (AA)
"Public roads and highways" for vehicles includes all
public thoroughfares, bridges, and culverts. (BB)
"Manufacturer's number" means the manufacturer's
original serial number that is affixed to or imprinted upon the
chassis
or other part of the motor vehicle. (CC)
"Motor number" means the manufacturer's original
number
that is affixed to or imprinted upon the engine or motor of the
vehicle. (DD)
"Distributor" means any person who is authorized by a
motor
vehicle manufacturer to distribute new motor vehicles to
licensed
motor vehicle dealers at an established place of business
that is used
exclusively for the purpose of distributing new motor
vehicles to licensed motor vehicle dealers, except when the
distributor also is a new motor vehicle dealer, in which case the
distributor may distribute at the location of the
distributor's
licensed dealership. (EE)
"Ridesharing arrangement" means the transportation of
persons in a motor vehicle where the transportation is
incidental
to another purpose of a volunteer driver and includes
ridesharing
arrangements known as carpools, vanpools, and
buspools. (FF)
"Apportionable vehicle" means any vehicle that is used
or
intended for use in two or more international registration plan
member jurisdictions that allocate or proportionally register
vehicles, that is used for the transportation of persons for hire
or designed, used, or maintained primarily for the transportation
of property, and that meets any of the following qualifications: (1) Is a power unit having a gross vehicle weight in
excess
of twenty-six thousand pounds; (2) Is a power unit having three or more axles, regardless
of the gross vehicle weight; (3) Is a combination vehicle with a gross vehicle weight
in
excess of twenty-six thousand pounds. "Apportionable vehicle" does not include recreational
vehicles, vehicles displaying restricted plates, city pick-up and
delivery vehicles, buses used for the transportation of chartered
parties, or vehicles owned and operated by the United States,
this
state, or any political subdivisions thereof. (GG)
"Chartered party" means a group of persons who
contract
as a group to acquire the exclusive use of a
passenger-carrying
motor vehicle at a fixed charge for the
vehicle in accordance with
the carrier's tariff, lawfully on file
with the United
States
department of transportation, for the purpose of group
travel to a
specified destination or for a particular itinerary,
either agreed
upon in advance or modified by the chartered group
after having
left the place of origin. (HH)
"International registration plan" means a reciprocal
agreement of member jurisdictions that is endorsed by the
American
association of motor vehicle administrators, and that
promotes and
encourages the fullest possible use of the highway
system by
authorizing apportioned registration of fleets of
vehicles and
recognizing registration of vehicles apportioned in
member
jurisdictions. (II)
"Restricted plate" means a license plate that has a
restriction of time, geographic area, mileage, or commodity, and
includes license plates issued to farm trucks under division (K)
of section 4503.04 of the Revised Code. (JJ)
"Gross vehicle weight," with regard to any commercial
car, trailer, semitrailer, or bus that is taxed at the rates
established under section 4503.042 of the Revised Code, means the
unladen weight of the vehicle fully equipped plus the maximum
weight of the load to be carried on the vehicle. (KK)
"Combined gross vehicle weight" with regard to any
combination of a commercial car, trailer, and semitrailer, that
is
taxed at the rates established under section 4503.042 of the
Revised Code, means the total unladen weight of the combination
of
vehicles fully equipped plus the maximum weight of the load to
be
carried on that combination of vehicles. (LL)
"Chauffeured limousine" means a motor vehicle
that is
designed to carry nine or fewer passengers
and is operated for
hire on an hourly basis pursuant to a prearranged contract for
the
transportation of passengers on public roads and highways
along a
route under the control of the person hiring the vehicle
and not
over a defined and regular route.
"Prearranged contract"
means an
agreement, made in advance of boarding, to provide
transportation
from a specific location in a chauffeured
limousine at a fixed
rate per hour or trip.
"Chauffeured
limousine" does not include
any vehicle that is used exclusively in the
business of funeral
directing. (MM)
"Manufactured home" has the same
meaning as in division
(C)(4)
of section 3781.06 of the Revised Code.
(NN)
"Acquired situs,"
with respect to a manufactured home
or
a mobile home, means to
become located in this state by the
placement of the home
on real property, but does not include the
placement of a
manufactured home or a mobile home in the inventory
of a new
motor vehicle dealer or the inventory of a manufacturer,
remanufacturer, or distributor of manufactured or mobile
homes. (OO)
"Electronic" includes electrical, digital, magnetic,
optical, electromagnetic, or any other form of technology that
entails
capabilities similar to these technologies. (PP)
"Electronic record" means a record generated,
communicated,
received, or stored by electronic means for use in
an information system or
for transmission from one information
system to another. (QQ)
"Electronic signature" means a signature in electronic
form
attached to or logically associated with an electronic
record. (RR)
"Financial transaction device" has the same meaning as
in
division (A) of section 113.40 of the Revised Code. (SS)
"Electronic motor vehicle dealer" means a motor vehicle
dealer licensed under Chapter 4517. of the Revised Code whom the
registrar of motor
vehicles determines meets the criteria
designated in section 4503.034 of the Revised Code for
electronic
motor vehicle dealers and designates as an electronic motor
vehicle
dealer under that section.
Sec. 4503.034. The registrar of motor vehicles shall
designate as
an electronic motor vehicle dealer a motor vehicle
dealer who meets all
of the following criteria: (A) The dealer holds a current, valid dealer license issued
under
Chapter 4517. of the Revised Code. (B) The dealer participates in the title defect recision
fund
created by section 1345.52 of the Revised Code. (C) The dealer has the capability, via electronic means, to
send
motor vehicle title and registration information, as
specified by the
registrar, to the registrar and clerks of the
courts of
common pleas. (D) The dealer meets other criteria for electronic motor
vehicle
dealers that the registrar may establish by rule adopted
under
Chapter 119. of the Revised Code.
Sec. 4503.182. (A) A purchaser of a motor
vehicle, upon
application and proof of purchase of the vehicle, may be
issued
a
temporary license placard or windshield sticker for the
motor
vehicle. The purchaser of a vehicle applying for a temporary license
placard or windshield sticker under this section shall execute an
affidavit stating that the purchaser has not been
issued
previously
during the
current registration year a license plate
that could
legally be transferred to
such
the vehicle. Placards or windshield stickers shall be issued only for
the
applicant's use of the vehicle to enable
the
applicant to legally
operate the motor vehicle while proper title,
license plates, and
a certificate of registration
are being obtained, and shall be
displayed on no
other motor vehicle. Placards or windshield stickers issued under this section
are
valid for a period of thirty days from date of
issuance
and are
not transferable or renewable. The fee for such placards or windshield stickers is
two
dollars plus a
deputy registrar service fee of two dollars and
twenty-five cents for
each such placard issued by a deputy
registrar. (B) The registrar of motor vehicles may issue to a
motorized
bicycle dealer or a licensed motor vehicle dealer
temporary
license placards to be issued to purchasers for use on
vehicles
sold by the
licensed dealer, in accordance with
rules
prescribed
by the registrar. The dealer shall notify the registrar,
within
forty-eight hours
of proof, of
the
issuance
on
of a
form
prescribed
placard by
the
registrar
electronic means via computer
equipment purchased and
maintained by the dealer or in any other
manner prescribed by the
registrar. The fee for each
such placard issued by the registrar to
a
licensed motor vehicle dealer is
two dollars plus a fee of two
dollars and twenty-five cents
if the dealer notifies the registrar
of the
issuance of the placards in a manner other than by
electronic means via such
computer equipment. The fee for each
placard issued by the registrar to a
licensed motor vehicle dealer
is two dollars if the dealer notifies the
registrar of the
issuance of the placards by electronic means via such
computer
equipment. When a licensed motor vehicle dealer
issues a placard
to the purchaser of a vehicle that the dealer sells, the
dealer
shall collect and retain a fee of four dollars and twenty-five
cents. (C) The registrar of motor vehicles, at the
registrar's
discretion, may issue a temporary license placard. Such a
placard
may
be issued in the case of extreme hardship encountered by a
citizen from this state or another state who has attempted to
comply with all registration laws, but for extreme circumstances
is unable to properly register the citizen's vehicle. (D) The registrar shall adopt
rules, in accordance with
division (B) of section 111.15 of the
Revised Code, to specify the
procedures for reporting the
information from applications for
temporary license placards
and windshield stickers and for
providing the information from these
applications to law
enforcement agencies. (E) Temporary license
placards issued under this section
shall bear a distinctive combination of
seven
letters, numerals,
or letters and numerals, and shall incorporate
a security feature
that, to the greatest degree possible, prevents tampering
with any
of the information that is entered upon a placard when it is
issued. (F) As used in this section,
"motorized bicycle dealer"
means any person engaged in the business of selling at retail,
displaying, offering for sale, or dealing in motorized bicycles
who is not subject to section 4503.09 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 4505.021. The owner of a motor vehicle shall apply for
a
certificate of title for the vehicle when required by this
chapter, but, except as otherwise specifically required in this
chapter, the
owner may elect whether or not to have the clerk of
the court of
common pleas to whom the certificate of title
application is
submitted issue a physical certificate of title for
the motor
vehicle, as provided in section 4505.08 of the Revised
Code. Except as otherwise specifically provided in this chapter,
any provision of
this chapter relating to the cancellation,
issuance, or surrender of a
certificate of title, including, but
not limited to, provisions
that contain a phrase such as
"when a
certificate of title is
issued,"
"the clerk shall issue a
certificate of title," or
"the
person shall obtain a certificate
of title to the motor vehicle,"
or another phrase of similar
import, shall include those
circumstances when a clerk enters
certificate of title information
into the automated title
processing system, but does not take any
further action relating
to a physical certificate of title for the
motor vehicle.
Sec. 4505.03. No person, except as provided in
section
sections
4505.032 and 4505.05 of the Revised
Code, shall sell or
otherwise dispose of a motor vehicle without delivering to
the
buyer or transferee
thereof
of it a certificate of title
with
such
an
assignment
thereon
on it as is necessary to show title in the
buyer or transferee; nor shall
any person, except as provided in
section
4505.032
or 4505.11
of the Revised Code,
buy or otherwise
acquire a motor vehicle without obtaining a
certificate
of title
for it in the person's name in accordance with
this chapter.
Sec. 4505.032. (A)(1) If a person who is not an electronic
motor
vehicle dealer owns a motor vehicle for which a physical
certificate of title
has not been issued by a clerk of a court of
common pleas and the person sells the motor vehicle to an
electronic motor vehicle dealer, the person is not required to
obtain a physical certificate of title to the motor vehicle in
order to transfer ownership to the dealer. The person shall
present the dealer, in a manner approved by the registrar of motor
vehicles,
with sufficient proof of the person's identity
and
complete and sign a form prescribed by the registrar
attesting to
the person's identity and assigning the
motor vehicle to the
dealer. The electronic motor vehicle dealer
then shall inform a
clerk of a court of common pleas via electronic means of
the sale
of
the motor vehicle and assignment of ownership of the vehicle to
the dealer. The clerk shall enter the information relating to the
assignment, including, but not limited to, the odometer disclosure
statement
required by section 4505.06 of the Revised Code, into
the automated title processing system,
and
ownership of the
vehicle passes to the dealer when the clerk
enters this
information into the
system. The dealer is not required to obtain
a certificate of
title to the vehicle in the dealer's name. (2) A clerk shall charge and collect from a dealer a fee of
five
dollars for
each motor vehicle assigned to the dealer under
division (A)(1) of this section. The fee shall
be distributed in
accordance with section
4505.09 of the Revised Code. (B)(1) Ownership of a motor vehicle may be assigned between
electronic motor vehicle dealers without any of the dealers
obtaining a
certificate of title to the motor vehicle in the name
of
any of those dealers. Each assignor dealer shall inform a
clerk of a court of
common pleas via
electronic means of the sale
of a motor vehicle to and of the assignment of
its ownership to an
assignee dealer. The clerk shall enter the information
relating
to the assignment, including, but not limited to, the odometer
disclosure statement required by section 4505.06 of the Revised
Code, into the automated
title processing system, and
ownership of
the vehicle passes to the assignee dealer when the clerk enters
this information into the system. (2) A clerk shall charge and collect from an assignor dealer
a
fee of three
dollars for each assignment of ownership of a motor
vehicle that the assignor
dealer makes under division (B)(1) of
this section. The
clerk shall retain two dollars and twenty-five
cents of the fee charged for each assignment of ownership and
shall pay the remaining seventy-five cents of each fee to the
registrar by monthly returns, which the clerk shall forward to the
registrar not later than the fifth day of the month next
succeeding that in which the assignment is made.
(3) The registrar shall pay the amount received for each
assignment of ownership as follows:
(a) Twenty-five cents into the state bureau of motor
vehicles fund established in section 4501.25 of the Revised Code;
(b) Four cents into the state treasury to the credit of the
motor vehicle dealers board fund established in section 4505.09 of
the Revised Code;
(c) Twenty-one cents into the general revenue fund;
(d) Twenty-five cents into the state treasury to the credit
of the motor vehicle sales audit fund established in section
4505.09 of the Revised Code.
(C) If a person who is not an electronic motor vehicle
dealer
owns a motor vehicle for which a physical certificate of
title has
not been issued by a clerk of a court of common pleas
and the person sells the
motor vehicle to a person who is not an
electronic motor vehicle dealer, the
person shall obtain a
physical certificate of title to the motor
vehicle in order to
transfer ownership of the vehicle to the
person who is not an
electronic motor vehicle dealer.
Sec. 4505.04. (A) No person acquiring a motor vehicle
from
its owner, whether the owner is a manufacturer, importer,
dealer,
or any other person, shall acquire any right, title,
claim, or
interest in or to the motor vehicle until there is issued to
the
person a certificate of title to the motor
vehicle, or
there is
delivered to the person a manufacturer's or
importer's certificate
for it,
or a certificate of title to it
is assigned as authorized
by
section 4505.032 of the Revised Code; and no waiver or
estoppel
operates in favor
of such person against a person having
possession of the
certificate of title to, or manufacturer's or
importer's
certificate for, the motor vehicle, for a valuable
consideration. (B) Subject to division (C) of this section, no court
shall
recognize the right, title, claim, or interest of any
person in or
to any motor vehicle sold or disposed of, or
mortgaged or
encumbered, unless evidenced: (1) By a certificate of title,
an assignment of a
certificate of title made under section
4505.032 of the Revised
Code,
a manufacturer's or
importer's certificate, or a certified
receipt of title
cancellation to an exported motor vehicle issued
in accordance
with sections 4505.01 to 4505.21 of the Revised
Code; (2) By admission in the pleadings or stipulation of the
parties; (3) In an action by a secured party to enforce a security
interest perfected under
sections 1309.01 to 1309.50
Chapter 1309.
of the
Revised Code in accordance with division (A) of section
4505.13
of the Revised Code, by an instrument showing a valid
security
interest. (C)(1) As used in division (C) of this section: (a)
"Harm" means damage or other loss. (b)
"Lease agreement" includes a sublease agreement as
defined in
division (C)(1)(d) of this section. (c)
"Lessee" includes a sublessee under a sublease
agreement,
but only if the sublessee is a motor vehicle leasing
dealer
licensed under Chapter 4517. of the Revised Code. (d)
"Sublease agreement" means a lease of a motor
vehicle
between a motor vehicle leasing dealer licensed under
Chapter
4517. of the Revised Code and a second such duly licensed motor
vehicle leasing dealer. (e)
"Tort action" means a civil action for damages for
harm
to a motor vehicle, other than a civil action for damages
for a
breach of contract or another agreement between persons. (2) Notwithstanding divisions (A) and (B) of
this section,
if a
motor vehicle that is the subject of a lease agreement
sustains
harm during the term of that agreement and if all of the
following conditions are satisfied, the lessee may commence a
tort
action in the lessee's own name to recover damages for
the harm
from
the person allegedly responsible for it: (a) The lessee shall file with and attach to the complaint
in the tort action a copy of the lease agreement pursuant to
which
the lessee is responsible for damage to the motor
vehicle, for
purposes of establishing the ownership of the motor
vehicle and
the interest of the lessee in it;. (b) The harm to the motor vehicle shall be such that,
under
the lease agreement, the lessee bringing the action is legally
responsible for
the repair of the harm;. (c) The lessee shall cause a copy of the complaint in the
tort action to be served upon the owner of the motor vehicle and
upon any
other lessee of the vehicle in
accordance with the Rules
of Civil Procedure.
Sec. 4505.06. (A) Application for a certificate of title
shall be made in a form prescribed by the registrar of motor
vehicles, and shall be sworn to before a notary public or other
officer empowered to administer oaths. The application shall be
filed with the clerk of
the
any court of common pleas
of the
county
in which the applicant resides if the applicant is a
resident of
this state or, if not a resident, in the county in
which the
transaction is consummated.
An application for a
certificate of title may be filed
electronically by
any electronic
image transmission
means approved by the registrar in any county
in
which
with the clerk of the court of common pleas
permits an
application to be filed electronically. The
signature of an
officer empowered to administer oaths that appears
on an
application for a certificate of title, or on any other
document
required to be filed by this chapter that has been filed
electronically, is
not a facsimile signature as defined in section
9.10 of the
Revised Code
of that county. Any payments required by
this chapter
shall be considered as accompanying any
electronically transmitted
application when payment actually is
received by the clerk.
Payment of any fee or taxes may be made
by
electronic transfer of
funds. The application for a certificate of title shall be
accompanied
by the fee prescribed in section 4505.09 of the
Revised Code; and
if. The fee shall be retained by the clerk who
issues the
certificate of title and shall be distributed in
accordance with that section.
If a clerk of a court of common
pleas, other than the clerk of the court of
common pleas of an
applicant's county of residence, issues a certificate of
title to
the applicant, the clerk shall transmit data related to the
transaction to the database of the automated data processing
system in the
office of the clerk of the court of common pleas of
the applicant's county of
residence. If a certificate of title previously has been issued for
the
a
motor vehicle in this state,
it
the application for a
certificate of title also shall be accompanied by that
certificate
of title duly assigned, unless otherwise provided in
this chapter.
If a certificate of title previously has not been
issued for the
motor vehicle in this state, the application,
unless otherwise
provided in this chapter, shall be accompanied
by a manufacturer's
or importer's certificate or by a certificate of title
of another
state
from which the motor vehicle was brought into this state.
If
the
application refers to a motor vehicle last previously
registered
in another state, the application also shall be
accompanied by
the physical inspection certificate required by
section 4505.061
of the Revised Code. If the application is made
by two persons
regarding a motor vehicle in which they wish to
establish joint
ownership with right of survivorship, they may do
so as provided
in section 2106.17 of the Revised Code. The clerk
shall retain
the evidence of title presented by the applicant and
on which the
certificate of title is issued,
except that, if an
application for a
certificate of title is
filed electronically by
an electronic motor vehicle dealer on behalf of the
purchaser of a
motor vehicle, the clerk
shall retain the completed electronic
record to which the dealer
converted the certificate of title
application and other required
documents. The electronic motor
vehicle dealer shall retain the
actual application and all other
documents relating to the sale
for a period of time specified by
the registrar, and the motor
vehicle dealer shall make all of the
documents available for
inspection upon the request of the
registrar. The clerk shall use reasonable
diligence in
ascertaining
whether or not the facts in the
application
for a
certificate of
title are true by checking the application and
documents
accompanying it
or the
electronic record to which a
dealer converted the
application and
accompanying documents with
the records of motor vehicles in the clerk's
office;
if. If the
clerk is satisfied that the applicant is the
owner of the motor
vehicle
and that the application is in the
proper form, the clerk,
within
five business days after the
application is filed, shall
issue a
physical
certificate of title
over the clerk's signature
and
sealed with the clerk's seal
unless
the applicant specifically
requests the clerk not to issue a
physical certificate of title
and instead to
issue an electronic
certificate of title. For
purposes of the transfer of a
certificate
of title, if the clerk
is satisfied that the secured
party has duly discharged
a lien
notation, but has not canceled
the lien notation with the
clerk of
the county of origin, the
clerk may cancel the lien notation on
the automated title
processing system and notify the clerk of the
county of origin. In the case of the sale of a motor vehicle to a general buyer
or user
by a dealer, by a motor vehicle leasing dealer selling the
motor
vehicle to the lessee or, in a case in which the leasing
dealer subleased the
motor vehicle, the sublessee, at the end of
the lease agreement or sublease
agreement, or by a manufactured
home
broker, the certificate of title shall be
obtained in the
name of the buyer by the dealer, leasing
dealer, or
the
manufactured home
broker, as the case may be, upon application
signed by
the buyer. The certificate of title shall be issued, or
the process
of entering the certificate of title application
information into the automated title processing system if a
physical
certificate of title is not to be issued shall
be
completed, within
five business days after the application for
title is filed with
the clerk. If the buyer of the motor vehicle
previously leased the motor
vehicle and
is buying the motor
vehicle at the end of the lease pursuant to that lease,
the
certificate of title shall be obtained in the name of the buyer by
the
motor vehicle leasing dealer who previously leased the motor
vehicle to the
buyer or by the motor vehicle leasing dealer who
subleased the motor vehicle
to the buyer under a sublease
agreement. In all other cases, except as provided in
section 4505.032
and division (D)(2)
of section 4505.11 of the Revised Code, such
certificates shall
be obtained by the buyer. In all cases of
transfer of
a motor vehicle, the application for certificate of
title shall be
filed within thirty days after the assignment or
delivery of the
motor vehicle. If an application for a
certificate of title is
not filed within that period, the clerk
shall collect a fee of
five dollars for the issuance of the
certificate, except that no
such fee shall be required from a
motor vehicle salvage dealer,
as defined in division (A) of
section 4738.01 of the Revised
Code, who immediately surrenders
the certificate of title for
cancellation. The fee shall be in
addition to all other fees
established by this chapter, and shall
be retained by the clerk. The
registrar shall provide, on the
certificate of title form
prescribed by section 4505.07 of the
Revised Code, language
necessary to give evidence of the date on
which the assignment or
delivery of the motor vehicle was made. As used in this division,
"lease agreement,"
"lessee," and
"sublease
agreement" have the same meanings as in section 4505.04
of the Revised Code. (B) The clerk, except as provided in this section, shall
refuse to accept for filing any application for a certificate of
title and shall refuse to issue a certificate of title unless the
dealer or manufactured home broker or the applicant, in cases in
which the
certificate shall be obtained by the buyer, submits with
the
application payment of the tax levied by or pursuant to
Chapters
5739. and 5741. of the Revised Code
based on the
purchaser's county of residence. Upon payment of the tax in
accordance with division (E) of this section, the clerk shall
issue a receipt prescribed by the registrar and agreed upon by the
tax
commissioner showing payment of the tax or a receipt issued by
the
commissioner showing the payment of the tax. When submitting
payment of the
tax to the clerk, a dealer shall retain any
discount to which the dealer is
entitled under section 5739.12 of
the Revised Code. For receiving and disbursing such taxes paid to the clerk,
the clerk may retain a poundage
fee of one and one one-hundredth
per cent,
which shall be paid
into the certificate of title
administration fund created by
section 325.33 of the
Revised Code.
In the case of casual sales of motor vehicles, as defined
in
section 4517.01 of the Revised Code, the price
for the purpose of
determining the tax shall be the purchase
price on the assigned
certificate of title executed
by the seller and filed with the
clerk by the
buyer on a form to be prescribed by the registrar,
which shall
be prima-facie evidence of the amount for the
determination of the tax. (C)(1) If the transferor indicates on the certificate of
title
that the odometer reflects mileage in excess of the designed
mechanical limit of the odometer, the clerk shall enter the
phrase
"exceeds mechanical limits" following the mileage
designation. If
the transferor indicates on the certificate of
title that the
odometer reading is not the actual mileage, the
clerk shall enter
the phrase
"nonactual: warning -
odometer discrepancy" following
the mileage designation. The clerk shall use
reasonable care in
transferring the information supplied
by the transferor, but is
not liable for any errors or omissions
of the clerk or those of
the clerk's deputies in the
performance of the clerk's duties
created by this chapter. The registrar shall prescribe an affidavit in which the
transferor shall swear to the true selling price and, except as
provided in this division, the true odometer reading of the motor
vehicle. The registrar may prescribe an affidavit in which the
seller and buyer provide information pertaining to the odometer
reading of the motor vehicle in addition to that required by this
section, as such information may be required by the United States
secretary of transportation by rule prescribed under authority of
subchapter IV of the
"Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings
Act," 86 Stat. 961 (1972), 15 U.S.C. 1981. (2) Division (C)(1) of this
section does not require the
giving of information
concerning the odometer and odometer reading
of a motor vehicle
when ownership of a motor vehicle is being
transferred as a
result of a bequest, under the laws of intestate
succession, to a
surviving spouse pursuant to section 2106.17,
2106.18, or 4505.10
of the Revised Code, or in connection with the
creation of a
security interest. (D) When the transfer to the applicant was made in some
other state or in interstate commerce, the clerk, except as
provided in this section, shall refuse to issue any certificate
of
title unless the tax imposed by or pursuant to Chapter
5741. of
the Revised Code
based on the purchaser's county of residence has
been paid as evidenced by a receipt issued by the tax
commissioner, or
unless the applicant submits with the application
payment of
the tax. Upon payment of the tax in accordance with
division
(E) of this section, the clerk shall issue a
receipt
prescribed by the
registrar and agreed upon by the tax
commissioner, showing
payment of the tax. For receiving and
disbursing such taxes paid
to the clerk, the clerk may retain a
poundage
fee of one per cent. When the vendor is not regularly
engaged in the
business of
selling
motor vehicles, the vendor
shall not be required to
purchase a vendor's
license or make
reports concerning such sales. (E) The clerk shall accept any payment of a tax in cash, or
by
cashier's check, certified
check, draft,
or money order, or
teller check issued by any
insured financial institution payable
to the clerk and submitted with an
application
for a certificate
of title under division (B)
or (D) of this section. The clerk
also may
accept payment of the tax by corporate, business, or
personal check, credit
card, electronic transfer or wire transfer,
debit card, or any other accepted
form of payment made payable to
the clerk. The clerk may require bonds,
guarantees, or letters of
credit to ensure the collection of corporate,
business, or
personal
checks. Any service fee charged by a third party to a
clerk for the use of
any form of payment may be paid by the clerk
from the certificate of title
administration fund created in
section 325.33 of the Revised Code, or may be
assessed by the
clerk upon the applicant as an additional fee. Upon
collection,
the additional fees shall be paid by the clerk into that
certificate of title administration fund. The clerk shall make a good faith effort to collect any
payment of taxes
due but not made because the payment was returned
or dishonored, but the clerk
is not personally liable for the
payment of uncollected taxes or uncollected
fees. The clerk
shall
notify the tax commissioner of any such payment of taxes that is
due but
not made and shall furnish such information to the
commissioner as the
commissioner requires. The clerk shall deduct
the amount of taxes due but not
paid from the clerk's periodic
remittance of tax payments, in accordance with
procedures agreed
upon by the tax commissioner. The commissioner may collect
taxes
due by assessment in the manner provided in section 5739.13 of the
Revised Code. Any person who presents payment that is returned or
dishonored for any
reason is liable to the clerk for payment of a
penalty over and above the
amount of the taxes due. The clerk
shall determine the amount of the penalty,
which shall be no
greater than that amount necessary to compensate the clerk
for
banking charges, legal fees, or other expenses incurred by the
clerk in
collecting the returned or dishonored payment. The
remedies and procedures
provided in this section are in addition
to any other available civil or
criminal remedies. Subsequently
collected penalties, poundage, and title
fees, less
any title fee
due the state, from returned or dishonored payments collected by
the clerk shall be paid into the certificate of title
administration fund.
Subsequently collected taxes, less poundage,
shall be sent by the clerk to the
treasurer of state at the next
scheduled periodic remittance of tax payments,
with such
information as the commissioner may require. The clerk may abate
all or any part of any penalty assessed under this division. (F) In the following cases, the clerk shall accept for
filing such application and shall issue a certificate of title
without requiring payment or evidence of payment of the tax: (1) When the purchaser is this state or any of its
political
subdivisions, a church, or an organization whose
purchases are
exempted by section 5739.02 of the Revised Code; (2) When the transaction in this state is not a retail
sale
as defined by section 5739.01 of the Revised Code; (3) When the purchase is outside this state or in
interstate
commerce and the purpose of the purchaser is not to
use, store, or
consume within the meaning of section 5741.01 of
the Revised Code; (4) When the purchaser is the federal government; (5) When the motor vehicle was purchased outside this
state
for use outside this state; (6) When the motor vehicle is purchased by a nonresident
of
this state for immediate removal from this state, and will be
permanently titled and registered in another state, as provided
by
division (B)(23) of section 5739.02 of the Revised Code, and
upon
presentation of a copy of the affidavit provided by that
section,
and a copy of the exemption certificate provided by
section
5739.03 of the Revised Code. The clerk shall forward all payments of taxes, less
poundage
fee, to the treasurer of state in a manner to be
prescribed by the
tax commissioner and shall furnish
such information
to the
commissioner as the commissioner requires. (G) An application, as prescribed by the registrar
and
agreed to by the tax commissioner, shall be filled out and sworn
to by the buyer of a motor vehicle in a casual sale. The
application shall contain the following notice in bold lettering:
"WARNING TO TRANSFEROR AND TRANSFEREE (SELLER AND BUYER): You
are
required by law to state the true selling price. A false
statement is in
violation of section 2921.13 of
the Revised Code
and is punishable by six months' imprisonment or
a fine of up to
one thousand dollars, or both. All transfers are
audited by the
department of taxation. The seller and buyer must
provide any
information requested by the department of taxation. The buyer
may be assessed any additional tax found to be due." (H) For sales of manufactured homes or mobile homes
occurring
on or after January 1, 2000, the clerk shall accept for
filing,
pursuant to
Chapter 5739. of the Revised Code, an
application for a
certificate of title for a manufactured home or
mobile home
without requiring payment of any tax pursuant to
section
5739.02, 5741.021, 5741.022, or 5741.023 of the
Revised
Code, or a receipt issued by
the tax commissioner showing payment
of the tax. For sales of
manufactured homes or mobile homes
occurring on or after January 1,
2000, the applicant shall pay to
the clerk an additional fee of five dollars
for each certificate
of title issued by the clerk for a
manufactured or mobile home
pursuant to division (H) of section 4505.11 of the Revised Code
and for each certificate of title issued upon transfer of
ownership of
the home. The clerk shall credit the fee to the
county title administration fund, and the fee shall be used to
pay
the expenses of archiving such certificates pursuant to
division
(A) of section 4505.08
and division (H)(3) of section
4505.11 of
the Revised Code. The tax commissioner
shall administer any tax
on a manufactured or mobile home
pursuant to Chapters 5739. and
5741. of the
Revised Code.
(I) Every clerk shall have the capability to transact by
electronic means all procedures and transactions relating to the
issuance of
motor vehicle certificates of title that are
described
in the Revised Code as being accomplished by
electronic means.
Sec. 4505.08. (A)
The
When the clerk of
the
a
court of
common pleas
issues a physical certificate of title, the clerk
shall issue
certificates
the certificate of title in duplicate.
One copy
shall
be retained and filed by the clerk in the
clerk's
office. The clerk shall sign
and affix the clerk's seal to the
original certificate of
title and, if
there are no liens on the
motor vehicle, shall deliver the
certificate to the applicant or
the selling dealer. If there are one or more
liens on
the motor
vehicle, the certificate of title shall be delivered to
the holder
of the first lien or the selling dealer, who shall deliver the
certificate of title to the holder of the first lien. The registrar of motor vehicles shall prescribe a uniform
method of numbering
certificates of title, and such numbering
shall be in such manner
that the county of issuance is indicated.
The clerk shall assign
numbers to certificates of title in the
manner prescribed by the
registrar. The clerk shall file all
certificates of title
according to
regulations
rules to be
prescribed by the registrar, and
the clerk shall maintain in the
clerk's office indexes for
the certificates of title. The clerk need not retain on file any current
certificates of
title, current duplicate certificates of title,
current memorandum
certificates of title, or current salvage
certificates of title,
or supporting evidence
thereof
of them,
including the
electronic
record described in division (A) of
section 4505.06 of the
Revised Code,
covering
any motor vehicle or
manufactured or mobile
home for a period longer
than seven years
after the date of its
filing; thereafter, the
same
documents and
supporting evidence may
be destroyed. The clerk need not retain
on file any
inactive
records, including certificates of title,
duplicate
certificates
of title,
or memorandum certificates of
title, or
supporting
evidence
thereof
of them, including the
electronic record
described in division (A) of
section 4505.06 of the Revised Code,
covering any motor vehicle or
manufactured or mobile home for a
period longer than five years
after
the date of its filing;
thereafter, the
same
documents and
supporting evidence may be
destroyed. The clerk
shall retain the
active index and all active
records in the data base of the
computer in the clerk's office,
and shall retain in the data base
a record and
index of all
inactive
titles for ten years, and a
record and index of all
inactive titles for manufactured and
mobile homes for thirty
years. If the clerk provides a written
copy of any information
contained in the data base, the copy shall
be considered the
original for
purposes of the clerk certifying
the record of such
information for use in any
legal proceeding. (B)(1) If the clerk issues a certificate of title for a
motor vehicle that was last previously registered in another
state, the clerk
shall record verbatim, where practicable, in the
space
on the title described in division (B)(19) of section
4505.07 of
the Revised Code, the words that appear as a notation
to the
vehicle on the title issued by the previous state. These
notations may include, but are not limited to, words to the
effect
that the vehicle was considered or was categorized by the
state in
which it was last previously registered to be a law
enforcement
vehicle,
or a taxicab, or was once in a flood. (2) If the clerk, while issuing a certificate of title for
a
motor vehicle that was last previously registered in another
state, receives information from the automated title processing
system indicating that a title to the vehicle previously was
issued
by this state and that the previous title contained
notations
that appeared in the space described in division (B)(19)
or
(20) of section 4505.07 of the Revised Code, the clerk shall
enter
the notations that appeared on the previous certificate of
title
issued by this state on the new certificate of title in the
space
described in division (B)(19) or (20) of section 4505.07 of
the Revised Code, irrespective of whether the notations appear on
the
certificate of title issued by the state in which the vehicle
was
last previously registered. (3) If the clerk, while issuing a certificate of title for
a
motor vehicle that was last previously registered in another
state, receives information from the automated title processing
system indicating that the vehicle was previously issued a title
by this state and that the previous title bore the notation
"REBUILT SALVAGE" as required by division (E) of section 4505.11
of the Revised Code, or the previous title to the vehicle issued
by this state was a salvage certificate of title, the clerk shall
cause the certificate of title the clerk issues to bear the
notation
"REBUILT SALVAGE" in the location prescribed by the
registrar
pursuant to that division. (C) When the clerk issues a certificate of title for a motor
vehicle that was last previously registered in this state and was
a law
enforcement vehicle,
or a taxicab, or was once in a flood,
the clerk shall record
that information in the space on the title
described in division
(B)(20) of section 4505.07 of the Revised
Code. The registrar, by rule, may
prescribe any additional uses
of or happenings to a motor vehicle that the
registrar has reason
to believe should be noted on the certificate of title as
provided
in this division. (D) The clerk shall use reasonable care in recording or
entering onto titles the clerk issues any notation and
information
the clerk is required by divisions (B)
and (C) of this section to
record or enter and
in causing the titles the clerk issues to bear
any notation
required by those divisions, but the clerk is not
liable for any of the clerk's errors or omissions or those of
the
clerk's deputies, or the automated title
processing system, in the
performance of the duties imposed on
the clerk by this section. (E) The clerk may issue a duplicate title, when duly
applied
for, of any title that has been destroyed as herein provided. (F)
The clerk shall issue a physical certificate of title to
an
applicant unless the applicant specifically requests the clerk
not to issue a
physical certificate of title and instead to issue
an electronic certificate
of title.
The fact that a physical
certificate of title is
not issued for a motor vehicle does not
affect ownership of the
vehicle. In that case, when the clerk
completes the process of
entering certificate of title application
information into the
automated title processing system, the effect
of the completion of
the process is the same as if the clerk
actually issued a physical
certificate of title for the motor
vehicle.
(G) An electronic motor vehicle dealer who applies for a
certificate of title on behalf of a customer who purchases a motor
vehicle
from the dealer may print a non-negotiable evidence of
ownership for the customer if the customer so requests. The
authorization to print the non-negotiable evidence of ownership
shall come from the clerk with whom the dealer makes application
for the certificate of title for the customer, but the printing by
the dealer does not create an agency relationship of any kind
between the dealer and the clerk.
Sec. 4505.09. (A) The clerk of
the
a court of common pleas
shall charge a fee of five dollars for each certificate of title
that is not applied for within thirty days after the assignment
or
delivery of the motor vehicle described
therein
in it. The
fees
shall be retained by the clerk. In addition to those fees, the clerk shall charge a fee of
five dollars for each certificate of title, duplicate
certificate
of title, memorandum certificate of title,
authorization to
print
a non-negotiable
evidence of ownership described in division (G)
of section 4505.08 of
the Revised Code, and
notation of any lien
on a certificate of title. The clerk shall
retain two dollars and
twenty-five cents of the fee charged for
each certificate of
title, four dollars and seventy-five cents of
the fee charged for
each duplicate certificate of
title, all of the fees charged for
each memorandum certificate
or
authorization to print a
non-negotiable evidence of ownership,
and four dollars and
twenty-five cents of the fee charged for
each notation of a lien. The remaining two dollars and seventy-five cents charged
for
the certificate of title, the remaining twenty-five cents
charged
for the duplicate certificate of title, and the
remaining
seventy-five cents charged for the notation of any lien
on a
certificate of title shall be paid to the registrar of motor
vehicles by monthly returns, which shall be forwarded to the
registrar not later than the fifth day of the month next
succeeding that in which the certificate is issued or that in
which the registrar is notified of a lien or cancellation
thereof
of a lien. (B)(1) The registrar shall pay twenty-five cents of the
amount received for each certificate of title and all of the
amounts received for each notation of any lien and each duplicate
certificate of title into the state bureau of motor vehicles
fund
established in section 4501.25 of the Revised Code. (2) Fifty cents of the amount received for each
certificate
of title shall be paid by the registrar as follows: (a) Four cents shall be paid into the state treasury to
the
credit of the motor vehicle dealers board fund, which is
hereby
created. All investment earnings of the fund shall be credited to
the
fund. The moneys in the motor vehicle dealers board fund
shall be used by the
motor vehicle dealers board created under
section 4517.30 of the Revised Code,
together
with other moneys
appropriated to it, in the exercise of
its powers and
the
performance of its duties under Chapter 4517. of the Revised Code,
except
that the director of budget and management may transfer
excess money from the
motor vehicle dealers board fund to the
bureau of motor vehicles fund if the
registrar determines that the
amount of money in the motor vehicle dealers
board fund, together
with other moneys appropriated to the
board, exceeds the
amount
required for the exercise of its powers and the performance of its
duties under Chapter 4517. of the Revised Code and requests the
director to
make the transfer. (b) Twenty-one cents shall be paid into the general
revenue
fund;. (c) Twenty-five cents shall be paid into the state
treasury
to the credit of the motor vehicle sales audit fund,
which is
hereby created. The moneys in the fund shall be used by
the tax
commissioner together with other funds available
to the
commissioner to conduct a continuing investigation of
sales and
use tax returns
filed for motor vehicles in order to determine if
sales and use
tax liability has been satisfied. The commissioner
shall refer
cases of apparent violations of section 2921.13 of the
Revised
Code made in connection with the titling or sale of a
motor
vehicle and cases of any other apparent violations of the
sales
or use tax law to the appropriate county prosecutor whenever
the
commissioner considers it advisable. (3) Two dollars of the amount received by the registrar for
each certificate
of title shall be paid into the state treasury to
the credit of the automated
title processing fund, which is hereby
created and which shall consist of
moneys collected under division
(B)(3) of this section and under
sections 1548.10 and 4519.59 of
the Revised Code. All
investment
earnings of the fund shall be
credited to the fund. The moneys in the fund shall be used as
follows: (a) Except for moneys collected under section 1548.10 of the
Revised Code
and as provided in division (B)(3)(c) of this
section,
moneys collected under division (B)(3) of this
section
shall be used to
implement and maintain an automated title
processing system for
the issuance of motor vehicle, off-highway
motorcycle, and
all-purpose vehicle certificates of title in the
offices of the clerks of the courts of common pleas;. (b) Moneys collected under section 1548.10 of the Revised
Code shall be used
to issue marine certificates of title in the
offices of the clerks of the
courts of common pleas as provided in
Chapter 1548. of the Revised
Code. (c)
Moneys collected under division (B)(3) of this
section
shall be used in accordance with
section 4505.25 of the Revised
Code to implement ....B.... of the 124th general assembly. (C)(1) The automated title processing board is hereby
created consisting of the registrar or the registrar's
representative, a
person selected by the registrar, the president
of the Ohio
clerks of court association or the president's
representative, and two clerks
of courts of common pleas appointed
by the governor. The
director of budget and management or the
director's
designee, the chief of
the division of watercraft in
the department of natural resources
or the chief's designee, and
the tax commissioner or
the commissioner's designee shall
be
nonvoting members of the board. (2) The automated title processing board shall determine
each of the following: (a) The automated title processing equipment and
certificates of title requirements for each county; (b) The payment of expenses that may be incurred by the
counties in implementing an automated title processing system; (c) The repayment to the counties for existing title
processing equipment. (3) The registrar shall purchase, lease, or otherwise
acquire any automated title processing equipment and certificates
of title that the board determines are necessary from moneys in
the automated title processing fund established by division
(B)(3)
of this section. Each county issuing more than one
hundred
thousand certificates of title annually, with the
approval of the
registrar and in accordance with the registrar's
requirements, may
purchase and maintain an automated title processing
system for the
issuance of motor vehicle titles, certificates of
title for
off-highway motorcycles and all-purpose vehicles, and
certificates
of title for
watercraft and outboard motors with the cost of
the
system paid for from the automated processing title fund. (D) All counties shall conform to the requirements of the
registrar regarding the operation of their automated title
processing system for motor vehicle titles, certificates of title
for off-highway motorcycles and all-purpose vehicles, and
certificates of title for
watercraft and outboard motors.
Sec. 4505.10. (A) In the event of the transfer of ownership
of
a motor vehicle by operation of law, as upon inheritance,
devise
or, bequest, order in bankruptcy, insolvency, replevin, or
execution sale, a motor vehicle is sold
to satisfy storage or
repair charges, or repossession is had upon
default in performance
of the terms of a security agreement as
provided in Chapter 1309.
of the Revised Code,
the
a clerk of
the
a
court of common pleas
of
the county in which the last certificate
of title to the motor
vehicle was issued, upon the surrender of
the prior certificate of
title or the manufacturer's or
importer's certificate, or, when
that is not possible, upon
presentation of satisfactory proof to
the clerk of ownership and
rights of possession to the motor
vehicle, and upon payment of
the fee prescribed in section 4505.09
of the Revised Code and
presentation of an application for
certificate of title, may
issue to the applicant a certificate of
title to the motor
vehicle. Only an affidavit by the person or
agent of the person
to whom possession of the motor vehicle has
passed, setting forth
the facts entitling the person to the
possession and
ownership, together
with a copy of the journal
entry, court order, or instrument upon
which the claim of
possession and ownership is founded, is
satisfactory proof of
ownership and right of possession. If the
applicant cannot
produce that proof of ownership, the
applicant may apply
directly
to the registrar of motor vehicles and submit the
evidence the
applicant has, and the registrar, if
the registrar finds the
evidence
sufficient, then may authorize the clerk to issue a
certificate
of title. If, from the records in the office of the
clerk, there
appears to be any lien on the motor vehicle, the
certificate of
title shall contain a statement of the lien unless
the
application is accompanied by proper evidence of its
extinction. (B) The clerk shall transfer a decedent's interest in one
or
two automobiles to the surviving spouse of the decedent,
as
provided in section 2106.18 of the Revised Code, upon receipt of
the title
or titles.
An affidavit executed by the
surviving
spouse shall be submitted to the clerk with
the title or titles.
The affidavit shall give the date of death of the
decedent, shall
state that
each
automobile for which the decedent's interest is to
be so transferred is not
disposed of by testamentary disposition,
and
shall provide an
approximate value for each automobile
selected to be transferred by the
surviving spouse. The affidavit
shall also contain a description for each
automobile for which the
decedent's interest is to be so
transferred. The transfer does
not affect any liens upon any
automobile for which the decedent's
interest is so transferred. (C) Upon the death of one of the persons who have
established joint ownership
with right of survivorship under
section 2106.17 of the Revised Code in a
motor vehicle, and upon
presentation to the clerk of the title and the
certificate of
death of the decedent, the clerk shall transfer title to the
motor
vehicle to the survivor. The transfer does not affect any liens
upon
any
motor vehicle so transferred.
Sec. 4505.102. (A) If a pawnbroker licensed under
Chapter
4727. of the Revised Code makes a loan that is secured by a motor
vehicle,
watercraft, or outboard motor and has taken possession of
the
motor vehicle, watercraft, or outboard motor and the
certificate
of title to the
motor vehicle, watercraft, or outboard
motor, and the owner of
the motor vehicle, watercraft, or outboard
motor fails to redeem or pay
interest on the loan for which the
motor vehicle, watercraft, or outboard
motor was pledged within
two months from the date of the loan or the
date on which the last
interest payment is due, and the pawnbroker notifies
the owner by
mail, with proof of mailing, as required by division
(A) of
section 4727.11 of the Revised Code, of the possible forfeiture of
the
motor
vehicle, watercraft, or outboard motor, and the owner
fails to redeem
the motor vehicle, watercraft, or outboard motor
within the thirty-day period
required by that division to be
specified in the notice, the pawnbroker shall proceed to obtain a
certificate
of title to the motor vehicle, watercraft, or outboard
motor in the
pawnbroker's name in the manner provided
in this
section. (B) The pawnbroker shall execute an affidavit stating all of
the
following: (1) That the pawnbroker is a pawnbroker licensed under
Chapter 4727. of the Revised Code; (2) That the pawnbroker has made a loan to the owner of a
motor vehicle,
watercraft, or outboard motor, and the security for
the loan is the motor
vehicle, watercraft, or outboard motor; (3) That both the motor vehicle, watercraft, or outboard
motor and the
certificate of title to the motor vehicle,
watercraft, or outboard motor are
in the possession of the
pawnbroker; (4) That the owner of the motor vehicle, watercraft, or
outboard motor has
failed to redeem the pledged motor vehicle,
watercraft, or outboard motor or
pay interest on the loan for
which the motor vehicle, watercraft, or outboard
motor was pledged
within two months from the date of the loan or the date on
which
the
last interest payment was due; (5) That the pawnbroker has notified the owner of the motor
vehicle,
watercraft, or outboard motor by mail, with proof of
mailing, as required by
division
(A) of section 4727.11 of the
Revised Code,
and the owner has failed to redeem the motor
vehicle, watercraft, or outboard
motor within the thirty-day
period required by that division to be specified in the notice. Upon presentation by the pawnbroker of a copy of the
affidavit, a copy of
the pawn form, a copy of the proof of
mailing, and the certificate of title to
the motor vehicle,
watercraft, or outboard motor,
the
a clerk of
the
a court of
common pleas
of the county in which the last certificate of title
to the
motor
vehicle, watercraft, or outboard motor was issued
shall issue, if the
record
shows no lien or encumbrances exist, a
certificate of
title, free and clear of all liens and
encumbrances, to the pawnbroker. (C) No person shall execute or present the affidavit
required by
this section, knowing any entry on the affidavit to be
false.
Sec. 4505.11. (A) Each owner of a motor vehicle and each
person mentioned as owner in the last certificate of title, when
the motor vehicle is dismantled, destroyed, or changed in such
manner that it loses its character as a motor vehicle, or changed
in such manner that it is not the motor vehicle described in the
certificate of title, shall surrender the certificate of title
to
that motor vehicle to
the
a clerk of
the
a court of common pleas
who
issued it, and
thereupon the clerk, with the consent of any
holders of any liens
noted
thereon
on the certificate of title,
then shall enter a cancellation upon the clerk's records
and shall
notify the registrar of motor vehicles of the cancellation. Upon the cancellation of a certificate of title in the
manner
prescribed by this section, the clerk and the registrar
of motor
vehicles
may cancel and destroy all certificates and all
memorandum
certificates in that chain of title. (B) Where an Ohio certificate of title or salvage
certificate of title to a motor vehicle is assigned to a salvage
dealer, the dealer is not required to obtain an Ohio
certificate
of title or a salvage certificate of title to the
motor vehicle in
the dealer's own name if the dealer
dismantles or destroys the
motor vehicle, indicates the number of
the dealer's motor vehicle
salvage dealer's license thereon, marks
"FOR
DESTRUCTION" across
the face of the certificate of title or
salvage certificate of
title, and surrenders the certificate of
title or salvage
certificate of title to
the
a clerk of
the
a court
of common pleas
as provided in division (A) of this section. If
the salvage
dealer retains the motor vehicle for resale, the dealer
shall make
application for a salvage certificate of title to the motor
vehicle in the dealer's own name as provided in division (C)(1) of
this section. (C)(1) When an insurance company declares it economically
impractical to repair such a motor vehicle and has paid an agreed
price for the purchase of the motor vehicle to any insured or
claimant owner, the insurance company shall receive the
certificate of title and the motor vehicle and proceed as follows.
Within thirty days the insurance company shall deliver the
certificate of title to
the
a clerk of
the
a court of common pleas
and shall make application for a salvage certificate of title.
The clerk shall issue the salvage certificate of title on a form,
prescribed by the registrar, that shall be
easily distinguishable
from the original certificate of title and
shall bear the same
number and information as the original
certificate of title.
Except as provided in division
(C)(2) of this section, the salvage
certificate of title shall be
assigned by the insurance company to
a salvage dealer or any
other person for use as evidence of
ownership upon the sale or
other disposition of the motor vehicle,
and the salvage
certificate of title shall be transferrable to any
other person. The clerk
shall charge a fee of four
dollars for
the cost of processing each salvage certificate of
title. (2) If an insurance company considers a motor vehicle as
described in division (C)(1) of this section to be impossible to
restore for highway operation, the insurance company may assign
the certificate of title to the motor vehicle to a salvage dealer
or scrap metal processing facility and send the assigned
certificate of title to the clerk of the court of common pleas of
the county in which the salvage dealer or scrap metal processing
facility is located. The insurance company shall mark the face
of
the certificate of title
"FOR DESTRUCTION" and shall deliver a
photocopy of the certificate of title to the salvage dealer or
scrap metal processing facility for its records. (3) If an insurance company declares it economically
impractical to repair a motor vehicle, agrees to pay to the
insured or claimant owner an amount in settlement of a claim
against a policy of motor vehicle insurance covering the motor
vehicle, and agrees to permit the insured or claimant owner to
retain possession of the motor vehicle, the insurance company
shall not pay the insured or claimant owner any amount in
settlement of the insurance claim until the owner obtains a
salvage certificate of title to the vehicle and furnishes a copy
of the salvage certificate of title to the insurance company. (D) When a self-insured organization, rental or leasing
company, or secured creditor becomes the owner of a motor vehicle
that is burned, damaged, or dismantled and is determined to be
economically impractical to repair, the self-insured
organization,
rental or leasing company, or secured creditor
shall do one of the
following: (1) Mark the face of the certificate of title to the motor
vehicle
"FOR DESTRUCTION" and surrender the certificate of title
to
the
a clerk of
the
a court of common pleas for cancellation as
described in division (A) of this section. The self-insured
organization, rental or leasing company, or secured creditor
thereupon
then shall deliver the motor vehicle, together with a
photocopy of the certificate of title, to a salvage dealer or
scrap metal processing facility and shall cause the motor vehicle
to be dismantled, flattened, crushed, or destroyed. (2) Obtain a salvage certificate of title to the motor
vehicle in the name of the self-insured organization, rental or
leasing company, or secured creditor, as provided in division
(C)(1) of this section, and then sell or otherwise dispose of the
motor vehicle. If the motor vehicle is sold, the self-insured
organization, rental or leasing company, or secured creditor
shall
obtain a salvage certificate of title to the motor vehicle
in the
name of the purchaser from
the
a clerk of
the
a court of
common
pleas
of the county in which the purchaser resides. (E) If a motor vehicle titled with a salvage certificate
of
title is restored for operation upon the highways, application
shall be made to
the
a clerk of
the
a court of common pleas for a
certificate of title. Upon inspection by the state highway
patrol, which shall include establishing proof of ownership and
an
inspection of the motor number and vehicle identification
number
of the motor vehicle and of documentation or receipts for
the
materials used in restoration by the owner of the motor
vehicle
being inspected, which documentation or receipts shall be
presented at the time of inspection, the clerk, upon surrender of
the salvage certificate of title, shall issue a certificate of
title for a fee prescribed by the registrar. The certificate of
title shall be in the same form as the original certificate of
title, shall bear the same number as the salvage certificate of
title and the original certificate of title, and shall bear the
words
"REBUILT SALVAGE" in black boldface letters on its face.
Every subsequent certificate of title, memorandum certificate of
title, or duplicate certificate of title issued for the motor
vehicle also
shall bear
the words
"REBUILT SALVAGE" in black
boldface letters on its
face. The exact location on the face of
the certificate of title
of the words
"REBUILT SALVAGE" shall be
determined by the
registrar, who shall develop an automated
procedure within the
automated title processing system to comply
with this division.
The clerk shall use reasonable care in
performing the duties
imposed on the clerk by this division in
issuing a
certificate of title
pursuant to this division, but the
clerk is not liable for
any of the clerk's errors or omissions or
those of the clerk's deputies, or the automated
title processing
system in the performance of those duties. A fee of forty
dollars
in fiscal year 1998 and fifty dollars in fiscal year
1999 and
thereafter shall be assessed by the state highway
patrol for each
inspection made pursuant to this division and
shall be deposited
into the state highway safety fund established
by section 4501.06
of the Revised Code. (F) No person shall operate upon the highways in this
state
a motor vehicle, title to which is evidenced by a salvage
certificate of title, except to deliver the motor vehicle
pursuant
to an appointment for an inspection under this section. (G) No motor vehicle the certificate of title to which has
been marked
"FOR DESTRUCTION" and surrendered to
the
a clerk of
the
a
court of common pleas shall be used for anything except
parts and
scrap metal. (H)(1) Except as otherwise provided in this
division, an
owner of a manufactured or mobile home that will be
taxed as real
property pursuant to division
(B) of section 4503.06 of the
Revised
Code shall surrender the
certificate of title to the
auditor of the county containing the taxing
district in which the
home is located. An owner
whose home qualifies for real property
taxation under
divisions (B)(1)(a) and (b) of
section 4503.06 of
the Revised
Code shall surrender the
certificate within fifteen
days after the home meets the
conditions specified in those
divisions. The
auditor shall deliver the
certificate of title to
the
clerk of the court of common pleas who issued it. (2) If the certificate of title for a manufactured or
mobile
home that is to be taxed as real property is held by a
lienholder,
the lienholder shall surrender
the certificate of title to the
auditor of the county containing the taxing district in
which the
home is located, and the auditor shall deliver the
certificate of
title to the clerk of the court of common
pleas who issued it.
The lienholder shall surrender the
certificate within thirty days
after both of the following have
occurred: (a) The homeowner has provided written notice to
the
lienholder requesting that the certificate of title be
surrendered
to the
auditor of the county containing the taxing district in
which the home is located;. (b) The homeowner has either paid the lienholder
the
remaining balance owed to the lienholder, or, with the
lienholder's consent, executed and delivered to the
lienholder a
mortgage on the home and land on which the
home is sited in the
amount of the remaining
balance owed to the lienholder. (3) Upon the delivery of a certificate of title by the
county auditor to
the clerk of the court, the
clerk of the court
shall inactivate it and retain it for a period of thirty
years. (4) Upon application by the owner of a manufactured or
mobile
home that is taxed as real property pursuant to division
(B) of
section 4503.06 of the Revised Code and that no longer
satisfies divisions
(B)(1)(a) and (b) or divisions
(B)(2)(a) and
(b) of that section,
the clerk of court shall reactivate
the
record of the certificate of title that was inactivated under
division (H)(3) of this section and shall issue a new
certificate
of title, but only if the application contains or has attached to
it all of the following: (a) An endorsement of the county treasurer that all real
property
taxes charged against the home under Title LVII of the
Revised Code and
division (B) of section 4503.06 of the Revised
Code for all preceding tax years have
been paid; (b) An endorsement of the county auditor that the home will
be
removed from the real property tax list; (c) Proof that there are no outstanding mortgages or other
liens
on the home or, if there are such mortgages or other liens,
that the mortgagee
or lienholder has consented to the
reactivation
of the certificate of title.
Sec. 4505.12. In the event of a lost or destroyed
certificate of title, application shall be made to
the
a clerk
of
the
a court of common pleas
of the county where the
certificate of
title was issued, by the owner of the motor vehicle, or the
holder
of a lien
thereon,
on it for a duplicate certificate of
title
upon
a form and accompanied by the fee prescribed by section
4505.09 of
the Revised Code. The application shall be signed and
sworn to by
the person making the application. Thereupon the clerk shall
issue a duplicate
certificate of title to the person entitled to
receive it under
this chapter.
The duplicate copy shall be
plainly marked across its
face with the word
"duplicate," and any
subsequent purchaser of the motor vehicle in
the chain of title
originating through the duplicate certificate
of title acquires
only such rights in the motor vehicle as the
original holder of
the duplicate certificate of title
had. Any purchaser of the
motor vehicle, at the time of
purchase, may require the seller to
indemnify the
purchaser and all subsequent
purchasers of the motor
vehicle against any loss
which
that the
purchaser or they may
suffer by
reason of any claim presented upon the
original
certificate. In
the event of the recovery of the
original
certificate of title by
the owner, the owner
immediately shall
surrender
the original
certificate of
title
it to the clerk for
cancellation. The holder of a certificate of title for a motor vehicle
upon
which is noted an existing lien, encumbrance, or mortgage at any
time may
make application to
the
a clerk
who issued the
certificate of title for a memorandum certificate, which
application shall be made in the form prescribed by the registrar
of motor vehicles and signed and sworn to by the applicant. Upon
receipt of
the
application, if it appears to be complete and in
order, together with the fee
prescribed by section 4505.09 of the
Revised Code, the clerk
shall issue to the applicant a memorandum
certificate for the
motor vehicle.
In the event
If the memorandum
certificate is
lost
or destroyed, the holder
thereof
of it may
obtain another
memorandum
certificate upon the filing of an
application with the clerk on a
form
and
prescribed by the
registrar, accompanied by the
fee prescribed in section 4505.09 of
the Revised Code. The memorandum certificate shall be effective
only for the purpose of obtaining a certificate of registration,
is not assignable, and constitutes no evidence of title or of
right to transfer or encumber the motor vehicle described
therein
in it.
Sec. 4505.13. (A)(1)
Sections 1309.01 to 1309.50
Chapter
1309. and
section 1701.66 of the Revised Code do not permit or
require the deposit,
filing, or other record of a security
interest covering a motor
vehicle, except as provided in division
(A)(2) of this section. (2)
Sections 1309.01 to 1309.50
Chapter 1309. of the Revised
Code
apply
applies
to a security interest in a motor vehicle held
as inventory, as
defined in division (D) of section 1309.07 of the
Revised Code,
for sale by a dealer, as defined in division (J) of
section
4517.01 of the Revised Code. The security interest has
priority
over creditors of the dealer as provided in
sections
1309.01 to
1309.50
Chapter 1309. of the Revised Code without
notation of the security
interest on a certificate of title,
without entry of a notation of
the security interest into the
automated title processing system if a physical certificate of
title for
the motor vehicle has not been issued,
or without the
retention of a
manufacturer's or importer's certificate. (B) Subject to division (A) of this section, any security
agreement covering a security interest in a motor vehicle, if a
notation of the agreement has been made by
the
a clerk of
the
a
court of common pleas on the face of the certificate of
title
or
the clerk has entered a notation of the agreement into the
automated title processing system and a physical certificate of
title
for the motor vehicle has not been issued, is valid
as
against the creditors of the debtor, whether armed with
process or
not, and against subsequent purchasers, secured
parties, and other
lienholders or claimants. All security
interests, liens,
mortgages, and encumbrances
noted upon
entered into the automated
title processing system in relation to
a particular certificate of
title, regardless of whether or not
a
physical
certificate of
title
is issued, take priority according to the
order of time
in
which they are
noted on
entered into the
certificate
automated
title processing system by the clerk.
Exposure for sale of any
motor vehicle by its owner, with the
knowledge or with the
knowledge and consent of the holder of any
security interest,
lien, mortgage, or encumbrance on it, does not
render that
security interest, lien, mortgage, or encumbrance
ineffective as
against the creditors of that owner, or against
holders of
subsequent security interests, liens, mortgages, or
encumbrances
upon that motor vehicle. The secured party, upon presentation of
the
evidence of a
security
agreement
interest to
the
a clerk of
the county in which
the
certificate of
title was issued
a court of common pleas,
together with the
certificate of title
if a physical certificate
of title for the
motor
vehicle exists, and the
fee prescribed by
section 4505.09 of the Revised Code, may have a
notation of the
security interest made.
The
Unless the secured party specifically
requests the clerk not to
issue a physical certificate of title
and instead to issue an electronic
certificate of title, the
clerk
shall issue,
over the clerk's signature and seal of office, a new
original certificate
of title from the automated title processing
records that
indicates the security interest and the date of the
security
interest. When the
If a security interest is discharged
and the holder
of the security interest holds a physical certificate of title,
the holder
of
it
the security interest
shall note its discharge on
the face of the certificate of title
over the holder's signature,
or over the holder's
signature on a form prescribed by the
registrar of motor vehicles when there
is no space for the
discharge on the face of the certificate of title.
Prior
Except
as
otherwise provided in this section, prior to
delivering the
certificate
of title to the
owner, the holder or
the holder's
agent shall
present it
convey the
certificate of title or a
separate sworn statement of the discharge of the
security interest
to the clerk, within five days after
receipt by the holder
of good
funds, for
the purpose
of having the clerk, if the
cancellation of
the security
interest appears to be genuine, note the cancellation
of the
security interest
on the face of the certificate of title,
if it
was so conveyed, and note it in the
automated title
processing system and
upon the records of
the clerk.
The clerk, if
that cancellation
appears to be genuine,
shall note the
cancellation on the
certificate of title and also
on the clerk's
records.
(C)(1) In all cases, a secured party may choose to present
the
clerk with
evidence of a security interest via electronic
means, and the clerk
shall enter the security interest into the
automated
title processing system. A secured party also may
choose to
notify the clerk of the discharge of its security
interest via
electronic means, and the clerk shall enter the
cancellation into
the automated title processing system. (2) In the case of a security interest that is being
satisfied by a motor
vehicle dealer to whom a certificate of title
is being transferred, the
cancellation of the security interest
shall occur during the course of the
transfer. The secured party
shall convey the certificate of title, with the
discharge of the
security interest noted on its face, to the motor vehicle
dealer
within five days after receipt of good funds by the
secured
party. If a secured party is unable to provide a certificate of
title to a motor
vehicle dealer under the circumstances described
in this division, the secured
party shall convey to the motor
vehicle dealer an affidavit stating that the
security interest has
been discharged, together with payment for a duplicate
certificate
of title, within five days after receipt of good funds by
the
secured party. A secured party is liable to a motor vehicle dealer for a
late fee of ten dollars per day for each certificate of title or
affidavit and required payment conveyed to the motor vehicle
dealer more than ten, but less than twenty-one days after receipt
of good funds and, from then on, twenty-five dollars per day
until the certificate of title or affidavit and required payment
are conveyed to the motor vehicle dealer. (D) Notwithstanding any provision of
sections 1310.01 to
1310.78
Chapter 1310. of the Revised Code or of any other law, the
lease of a
motor vehicle or trailer does not constitute a
conditional sale
or create a security interest merely because the
lease agreement
permits or requires the lessor, at the end of the
lease term, to
adjust the rental price to either a higher or a
lower amount by
reference to the amount the lessor realizes upon
the sale or
other disposition of the motor vehicle or trailer. (E)
If a physical certificate of title has not been issued
for a
motor vehicle and all the security interests relating to
that motor vehicle
have been discharged, the owner of the motor
vehicle may obtain a physical
certificate of title from the clerk
of any court of common pleas upon payment
of the fee specified in
section 4509.09 of the Revised
Code. (F) If a clerk of a court of common pleas, other than the
clerk
of the court of common pleas of the county in which the
owner of a motor
vehicle resides, enters a notation of the
existence of, or the cancellation
of, a security interest relating
to the motor vehicle, the clerk shall
transmit the data relating
to the notation to the database of the automated
data processing
system in the office of the clerk of the court of common pleas
of
the county of the owner's residence. (G) The registrar of motor vehicles, in accordance with
Chapter
119. of the Revised Code, shall adopt rules governing the
electronic transmission of security interest and other information
under this
section. In adopting the rules, the registrar shall
confer with the clerks of the courts of common pleas.
Sec. 4505.141. The registrar of motor vehicles shall enable
the
public to access motor vehicle title information via
electronic means.
The registrar, in accordance with Chapter 119.
of the
Revised
Code, shall adopt rules governing this access. In
adopting the
rules, the registrar shall confer with the clerks
of
the courts of common
pleas. Access
by the public to motor
vehicle
title information under this
section shall comply with all
restrictions contained in
the Revised Code and federal law that
govern the disclosure
of that information.
Sec. 4505.18.
(A) No person shall
do any of the following: (A)(1) Operate in this state a motor vehicle for which a
certificate of title is required without having
such
that
certificate
in accordance with
sections 4505.01 to 4505.21 of the
Revised
Code,
this chapter or
upon which the,
if a physical
certificate of
title has
not been
canceled
issued for a motor
vehicle, operate the motor vehicle in this
state knowing that the
ownership information relating to the vehicle has not
been
entered
into the automated title processing system by a clerk of a
court
of common pleas;
(B)(2) Display or display for sale or sell as a dealer or
acting on behalf of a dealer, a motor vehicle without having
obtained a manufacturer's or importer's certificate
or, a
certificate of title
therefor,
or an assignment of a certificate
of title for it
as provided in
sections
4505.01 to
4505.21 of the
Revised Code
this chapter;
(C)(3) Fail to surrender any certificate of title or any
certificate of registration or license plates upon cancellation
of
the same by the registrar of motor vehicles and notice thereof
as
prescribed in
sections 4505.01 to 4505.21 of the Revised Code
this
chapter;
(D)(4) Fail to surrender the certificate of title to
the
a
clerk of
the
a court of common pleas as
provided in
sections
4505.01 to 4505.21 of the Revised Code,
this chapter in case of
the
destruction or dismantling or change of a motor vehicle in
such
respect that it is not the motor vehicle described in the
certificate of title;
(E)(5) Violate any rules
promulgated
adopted pursuant to
sections
4505.01 to 4505.21 of the Revised Code.
this chapter;
(F)(6) Except as otherwise provided in
this chapter
and
Chapter 4517. of the
Revised Code, sell at wholesale a motor
vehicle the ownership of
which is not evidenced by an Ohio
certificate of title, or the
current certificate of title issued
for the motor vehicle, or the
manufacturer's certificate of
origin, and all title assignments
that evidence the seller's
ownership of the motor vehicle, and an
odometer disclosure
statement that complies with section 4505.06
of the Revised Code
and subchapter IV of the
"Motor Vehicle
Information and Cost
Savings Act," 86 Stat. 961 (1972), 15 U.S.C.
1981;
(7) Operate in this state a motor vehicle knowing that the
certificate of
title to the vehicle or ownership of the vehicle as
otherwise reflected in
the automated title processing system has
been canceled. (B) This section does not apply to persons engaged in the
business of warehousing or transporting motor vehicles for the
purpose of salvage disposition.
Sec. 4505.181. (A)
Notwithstanding divisions
(B),
(E)(A)(2), (5), and
(F)(6)
of section 4505.18 of the Revised
Code,
a motor vehicle dealer or person acting
on behalf of a motor
vehicle dealer may display, offer for sale, or sell a
used
motor
vehicle without having first obtained a certificate of title for
the
vehicle in the name of the dealer as required by this chapter
if the dealer or
person acting on behalf of the dealer complies
with divisions
(A)(1)(a) and
(A)(2) of this section, or divisions
(A)(1)(b) and
(A)(2) of this section, as follows: (1)(a) If the dealer has been licensed as a motor
vehicle
dealer for less than the three-year period prior to the date on
which
the dealer or person acting on behalf of the dealer
displays, offers for sale,
or sells the used motor vehicle for
which the dealer has not obtained a
certificate of title in the
name of the dealer, or if the attorney general has
paid a retail
purchaser of the dealer under division
(C) of this section within
three years prior
to such date, the dealer posts with the attorney
general's office in favor of
this state a bond of a surety company
authorized to do business in this state,
in an amount of not less
than twenty-five thousand dollars, to be used solely
for the
purpose of compensating retail purchasers of motor vehicles who
suffer
damages due to failure of the dealer or person acting on
behalf of the dealer
to comply with this section. The dealer's
surety shall notify the registrar
and attorney general when a bond
is canceled. Such notification of
cancellation shall include the
effective date of and reason for
cancellation. (b) If the dealer has been licensed as a motor
vehicle
dealer for longer than the three-year period prior to the date on
which
the dealer or person acting on behalf of the dealer
displays, offers for sale,
or sells the used motor vehicle for
which the dealer has not obtained a
certificate of title in the
name of the dealer and the attorney general has
not
paid a retail
purchaser of the dealer under division
(C) of this section within
three years prior
to such date, the dealer pays one hundred fifty
dollars to the attorney
general
for deposit into the title defect
recision fund created by section 1345.52 of
the Revised
Code. (2)
Possesses
The dealer or person acting on behalf of the
dealer possesses a bill of sale for each motor vehicle proposed to
be
displayed, offered for sale, or sold under this section and a
properly
executed
power of attorney or other related documents
from the prior owner of the motor
vehicle giving the dealer or
person acting on behalf of the dealer authority
to
have a
certificate of title to the motor vehicle issued in the name of
the
dealer, and retains copies of all such documents in the
dealer's or person's
files until such time as
a certificate of
title
in the dealer's name is issued
for each such motor vehicle
by the
clerk of the court of common pleas. Such
documents shall
be
available for inspection by the bureau of motor vehicles
during
normal business hours. (B) If a retail purchaser purchases a motor vehicle for
which the
dealer, pursuant to and in accordance with division
(A)
of this section, does not have a
certificate of title issued in
the name of the dealer at the time of the sale,
the retail
purchaser has an unconditional right to rescind the transaction
and
the dealer has an obligation to refund to the retail purchaser
the full
purchase price of the vehicle, if one of the following
applies: (1) The dealer fails, on or before the fortieth day
following the date
of the sale, to obtain a title in the name of
the retail purchaser;. (2) The title for the vehicle indicates that it is a rebuilt
salvage
vehicle, and the fact that it is a rebuilt salvage vehicle
was not disclosed to
the retail purchaser in writing prior to the
execution of the purchase
agreement;. (3) The title for the vehicle indicates that the dealer has
made an
inaccurate odometer disclosure to the retail purchaser. If any of the circumstances described in divisions
(B)(1) to
(3) of this section applies, a
retail purchaser or the retail
purchaser's representative shall notify the
dealer and afford the
dealer the opportunity to comply with the dealer's
obligation to
refund the full purchase price of the motor vehicle. Nothing in
this division shall be construed as prohibiting the dealer and the
retail
purchaser or their representatives from negotiating a
compromise resolution
that is satisfactory to both parties. (C) If a retail purchaser notifies a
dealer of one or more
of the circumstances listed in division
(B) of this section and
the dealer fails to
refund to the retail purchaser the full
purchase price of the vehicle or reach
a satisfactory compromise
with the retail purchaser within three business days
of
presentation of the retail purchaser's recision claim, the retail
purchaser
may apply to the attorney general for payment from the
fund of the full
purchase price to the retail purchaser. (D) Upon application by a retail
purchaser for payment from
the fund, if the attorney general is satisfied that
one or more of
the circumstances contained in divisions
(B)(1) to (3) of this
section exist, the
attorney general shall cause the full purchase
price of the vehicle to be paid
to the retail purchaser from the
fund after delivery of the vehicle to the
attorney general. The
attorney general may sell or otherwise dispose of any
vehicle that
is delivered to the attorney general under this section, and may
collect the proceeds of any bond posted under division
(A) of this
section by a dealer who has failed
to comply with division (C) of
this section.
The proceeds from all such sales and collections
shall be deposited into the
title defect recision fund for use as
specified in section 1345.52 of the
Revised
Code. (E) Failure by a dealer to comply with
division (A) or
(B)
of this section constitutes a deceptive
act or practice in
connection with a consumer transaction, and is a violation
of
section 1345.02 of the Revised
Code. (F) The remedy provided in this section
to retail purchasers
is in addition to any remedies otherwise available to the
retail
purchaser for the same conduct of the dealer or person acting on
behalf
of the dealer under federal law or the laws of this state
or a political
subdivision of this state. (G) All motor vehicle dealers licensed
under Chapter 4517.
of the
Revised Code
shall pay to the attorney general for deposit
into the title defect recision
fund the amount described in
division
(A)(1)(b) of this section
beginning with the calendar
year during which this section becomes effective
and each year
subsequent to that year until the balance in the fund is not
less
than three hundred thousand dollars. All such dealers also shall
pay to the
attorney general for deposit into the fund that amount
during any year and
subsequent years during which the balance in
the fund is less than three
hundred thousand dollars until the
balance in the fund reaches three hundred
thousand dollars. If a motor vehicle dealer fails to comply with this division,
the
attorney general may bring a civil action in a court of
competent jurisdiction
to collect the amount the dealer failed to
pay to the attorney general for
deposit into the fund.
Sec. 4505.19. No person shall do any of the following: (A) Procure or attempt to procure a certificate of title
or
a salvage certificate of title to a motor vehicle, or pass or
attempt to pass a certificate of title, a salvage certificate of
title, or any assignment
thereof
of a certificate of title or
salvage certificate of title to a motor vehicle,
or in any other
manner gain or attempt to gain ownership to a motor
vehicle,
knowing or
having reason to believe that
such
the motor vehicle or
any
part of
the motor vehicle has been acquired through commission
of
a theft
offense as defined in section 2913.01 of the Revised
Code; (B) Purport to sell or transfer a motor vehicle without
delivering to the purchaser or transferee
thereof
of it a
certificate
of title, a salvage certificate of title, or a
manufacturer's or
importer's certificate
thereto
to it, assigned
to
such
the purchaser
as
provided for in this
chapter,
except as
otherwise provided in this chapter; (C) With intent to defraud, possess, sell, offer to sell,
counterfeit, or supply a blank, forged, fictitious, counterfeit,
stolen, or fraudulently or unlawfully obtained certificate of
title, registration, bill of sale, or other instruments of
ownership of a motor vehicle, or conspire to do any of the
foregoing; (D) Knowingly obtain goods, services, credit, or money by
means of an invalid, fictitious, forged, counterfeit, stolen, or
unlawfully obtained original or duplicate certificate of title,
registration, bill of sale, or other instrument of ownership of a
motor vehicle; (E) Knowingly obtain goods, services, credit, or money by
means of a certificate of title to a motor vehicle, which is
required to be surrendered to the registrar of motor vehicles or
the clerk of the court of common pleas as provided in this
chapter.
Sec. 4505.20. (A) Notwithstanding division
(B)(A)(2) of
section
4505.18
of the Revised Code or any other provision of
Chapter 4505.
this
chapter or
Chapter 4517. of the
Revised Code, a
secured party may
designate any dealer to
display, display for
sale, or sell a
manufactured or mobile home if the
home has come
into the
possession of that secured
party by a default in the
terms of a
security instrument and the
certificate of title
remains in the
name and possession of the secured
party. (B) Notwithstanding division
(B)(A)(2) of section 4505.18
of
the Revised Code or
any
other provision of
Chapter 4505.
this
chapter or
Chapter 4517.
of the Revised Code,
the owner of a
recreational vehicle or a
secured party of a
recreational vehicle
who has come into
possession of the vehicle
by a default in the
terms of a security
instrument, may designate
any dealer to
display, display for sale,
or sell the vehicle
while the
certificate of title remains in the
possession of the
owner or
secured party. No dealer may display
or offer for sale
more than
five recreational vehicles at any time
under this
division. No
dealer may display or offer for sale a
recreational
vehicle under
this division unless the dealer
maintains insurance
or the bond of
a surety company authorized to
transact business
within this state
in an amount sufficient to
satisfy the fair
market value of the
vehicle. (C) The registrar of motor vehicles may adopt rules in
accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code prescribing the
maximum number of manufactured or mobile homes that have come into
the
possession of a secured party by a default in the terms of a
security instrument that any dealer may display or offer for sale
at any time. The registrar may adopt other reasonable rules
regarding the resale of such manufactured homes, mobile
homes, and
recreational
vehicles that the registrar considers necessary. (D) The secured party or owner shall provide the dealer
with
written authorization to display, display for
sale, or sell the
manufactured home, mobile home, or
recreational vehicle. The
dealer shall show and explain the written authorization to any
prospective purchaser. The written authorization shall contain
the vehicle identification number, make, model, year of
manufacture, and
physical description of the manufactured home,
mobile
home, or recreational
vehicle that is provided to the
dealer. (E) As used in this section,
"dealer" means a new motor
vehicle dealer
that is licensed under
Chapter 4517. of the Revised
Code.
Sec. 4505.25. The registrar of motor vehicles may use
money from the automated
title
processing fund created in section
4505.09 of the Revised Code, in accordance
with appropriations
made by
the general assembly, to pay expenses related to
implementing ..... B. .... of the 124th general assembly.
Sec. 4519.01. As used in this chapter: (A)
"Snowmobile" means any self-propelled vehicle designed
primarily for use on snow or ice, and steered by skis, runners,
or
caterpillar treads. (B)
"All-purpose vehicle" means any self-propelled vehicle
designed primarily for cross-country travel on land and water, or
on more than one type of terrain, and steered by wheels or
caterpillar treads, or any combination thereof, including
vehicles
that operate on a cushion of air, vehicles commonly
known as
all-terrain vehicles, all-season vehicles, mini-bikes,
and trail
bikes, but excluding any self-propelled vehicle not
principally
used for purposes of personal transportation, any
vehicle
principally used in playing golf, any motor vehicle or
aircraft
required to be registered under Chapter 4503. or 4561.
of the
Revised Code, and any vehicle excepted from definition as
a motor
vehicle by division (B) of section 4501.01 of the Revised
Code. (C)
"Owner" means any person,
or firm,
or corporation, other
than a lienholder or dealer, having title to a snowmobile,
off-highway motorcycle, or
all-purpose vehicle, or other right to
the possession thereof. (D)
"Operator" means any person who operates or is in
actual
physical control of a snowmobile, off-highway motorcycle,
or
all-purpose vehicle. (E)
"Dealer" means any person,
or firm, or corporation
engaged in the business of manufacturing or selling snowmobiles,
off-highway motorcycles, or all-purpose vehicles at
wholesale or
retail, or who rents,
leases, or otherwise furnishes snowmobiles,
off-highway
motorcycles, or all-purpose
vehicles for hire. (F)
"Street or highway" has the same meaning as
given that
term in section 4511.01 of the Revised Code. (G)
"Limited access highway" and
"freeway" have the same
meaning
meanings as
given those terms in section 5511.02
of the
Revised
Code. (H)
"Interstate highway" means any part of the interstate
system of highways as defined in subsection (e), 90 Stat. 431
(1976), 23 U.S.C.A. 103,
and amendments thereof
as amended. (I)
"Off-highway motorcycle" means every motorcycle, as
defined
in section 4511.01 of the Revised Code, that is
designed
to be operated primarily on lands
other than a street or highway. (J)
"Electronic" and
"electronic record" have the
same
meanings as in section 4501.01 of the Revised Code. (K)
"Electronic dealer" means a dealer whom the registrar of
motor vehicles designates under section 4519.511 of the Revised
Code.
Sec. 4519.51. The registrar of motor vehicles shall adopt
such rules
as
the registrar considers necessary to ensure uniform
and orderly operation of
sections 4519.51 to 4519.70 of the
Revised
Code, and the clerks of the courts of common
pleas shall
conform
thereto
to those rules. The registrar shall
receive and
file in the
registrar's office all information forwarded to the
registrar by the clerks
under those sections, and the clerks shall
maintain in their offices indexes
for the certificates of title. The registrar shall check with the registrar's records all
physical
certificates of title received in the registrar's office
from the clerks.
If If it appears that
a
any certificate of title has been
issued
improperly,
the
registrar shall cancel the certificate. Upon the
cancellation of any
certificate of title, the registrar shall
notify the clerk who issued
it, and
the clerk shall enter the
cancellation in the clerk's records. The registrar
also shall
notify the person to whom the certificate of title was issued, as
well as any lienholders appearing
thereon
on it, of the
cancellation and,
if it is a physical certificate of
title, shall
demand
surrender of the certificate of title, but the cancellation
shall not affect
the validity of any lien noted
thereon
on it.
The
holder of
the
a physical certificate of
title
shall return it
immediately to the registrar.
The The clerks shall keep on hand a
sufficient supply of blank
forms, which, except for the certificate of title
and memorandum
certificate forms, shall be furnished and distributed without
charge to registered manufacturers or dealers, or other persons
residing
within
the county.
Sec. 4519.511. The registrar of motor vehicles shall
designate as
an electronic dealer a dealer who meets both
of the
following criteria: (A) The dealer has the capability, via electronic means, to
send
title and registration information relating to off-highway
motorcycles and
all-purpose vehicles, as specified by the
registrar, to the registrar and the clerks of the courts of
common
pleas. (B) The dealer meets other criteria for electronic
dealers
that the registrar may establish by rule adopted under
Chapter
119. of the Revised Code.
Sec. 4519.512. The owner of an off-highway motorcycle or
all-purpose
vehicle shall apply for a
certificate of title for the
motorcycle or vehicle when required by this
chapter, but, except
as otherwise specifically required in this chapter, the
owner may
elect whether or not to have the clerk of the court of
common
pleas to whom the certificate of title application is
submitted
issue a physical certificate of title for the motorcycle or
vehicle, as provided in section 4519.58 of the Revised Code. Except as otherwise specifically provided in this chapter,
any provision of
this chapter relating to the cancellation,
issuance, or surrender of a
certificate of title, including, but
not limited to, provisions
that contain a phrase such as
"when a
certificate of title is
issued,"
"the clerk shall issue a
certificate of title," or
"the
person shall obtain a certificate
of title to the off-highway motorcycle or
all-purpose vehicle,"
or
another phrase of similar import, shall include those
circumstances when a clerk enters certificate of title information
into the automated title processing system, but does not take any
further action relating to a physical certificate of title for the
motorcycle or vehicle.
Sec. 4519.52. (A) Except as
provided in
section
sections
4519.521 and 4519.54 of the
Revised
Code,
on and after the
effective date of this section, no
dealer engaged in the
business
of selling new or used off-highway motorcycles or
all-purpose
vehicles shall sell or otherwise transfer a new or
used
off-highway motorcycle or all-purpose vehicle without
obtaining a
certificate of title to the new or used motorcycle
or vehicle, in
accordance with this chapter, and delivering
the certificate of
title or
memorandum certificate of title to the purchaser or
transferee. (B)(1) A person who
is not a dealer engaged in the business
of selling new or used
off-highway motorcycles or all-purpose
vehicles and who, on and
after
the effective date of this section,
owns an off-highway
motorcycle or all-purpose vehicle, may choose
to obtain a
certificate of title to the motorcycle or vehicle.
The
person
shall comply with this chapter in order to obtain the
certificate of title. (2) If a person who is not a dealer engaged in the
business
of selling new or used off-highway motorcycles or
all-purpose
vehicles and who owns an off-highway motorcycle or
all-purpose
vehicle obtains a certificate of title to the
motorcycle or
vehicle, that person,
except as otherwise provided in
section
4519.521 of the Revised Code, shall not sell or otherwise
transfer
the motorcycle or vehicle without delivering to the
purchaser or
transferee a certificate of title with
such
an
assignment
thereon
on it as is necessary to show title in the
purchaser or
transferee, and no
person shall subsequently purchase or otherwise
acquire the motorcycle or
vehicle without obtaining a certificate
of title to the motorcycle or vehicle
in the person's own name.
Sec. 4519.521. (A)(1) If a person who is not an electronic
dealer owns an off-highway motorcycle or all-purpose vehicle for
which a
physical certificate of title
has not been issued by a
clerk of a court of
common pleas and the person sells the
motorcycle or vehicle to an
electronic dealer, the person is not
required to
obtain a physical certificate of title to the
motorcycle or vehicle in
order to transfer ownership to the
dealer. The person shall
present the dealer, in a manner approved
by the registrar of motor vehicles,
with sufficient proof of the
person's identity
and complete and sign a form prescribed by the
registrar
attesting to the person's identity and assigning the
motorcycle or vehicle to the dealer. The electronic dealer
then
shall inform a clerk of a court of common pleas via electronic
means of
the sale of
the motorcycle or vehicle and assignment of
ownership of the motorcycle or
vehicle to
the dealer. The clerk
shall enter the information relating to the
assignment into the
automated title processing system, and
ownership of the motorcycle
or vehicle passes to the dealer when the clerk
enters this
information into the
system. The dealer is not required to obtain
a certificate of
title to the motorcycle or vehicle in the
dealer's name. (2) A clerk shall
charge and collect from a dealer a fee of
five
dollars
for each motorcycle or
vehicle assigned to the dealer
under division (A)(1) of this section. The fee shall be
distributed in accordance
with section 4519.59 of the Revised
Code. (B)(1) Ownership of an off-highway motorcycle or all-purpose
vehicle
may be assigned between
electronic dealers without any of
the dealers obtaining a
certificate of title to the motorcycle or
vehicle in the name of
any of those dealers. Each assignor dealer
shall inform a clerk of a court of
common pleas via
electronic
means of the sale of a motorcycle or vehicle to and of the
assignment of
its ownership to an assignee dealer. The clerk
shall enter the information
relating to the assignment into the
automated title processing system, and
ownership of the motorcycle
or vehicle passes to the assignee dealer when the
clerk enters
this information into the system. (2) A clerk shall charge and collect from an
assignor dealer
a
fee of
three dollars
for each assignment of
ownership of a
motorcycle or vehicle that the assignor dealer makes under
division (B)(1) of this section. The clerk
shall retain two
dollars and twenty-five cents of the fee charged for each
assignment of ownership and shall pay the remaining seventy-five
cents of each fee to the registrar by monthly returns, which the
clerk shall forward to the registrar not later than the fifth day
of the month next succeeding that in which the assignment is made.
(3) The registrar shall pay the amount received for each
assignment of ownership as follows:
(a) Twenty-five cents into the state bureau of motor
vehicles fund established in section 4501.25 of the Revised Code;
(b) Four cents into the state treasury to the credit of the
motor vehicle dealers board fund, established in section 4505.09
of the Revised Code;
(c) Twenty-one cents into the general revenue fund;
(d) Twenty-five cents into the state treasury to the credit
of the motor vehicle sales audit fund established in section
4505.09 of the Revised Code.
(C) If a person who is not an electronic dealer
owns an
off-highway motorcycle or all-purpose vehicle for which a physical
certificate of title has
not been issued by a clerk of a court of
common pleas and the person sells the
motorcycle or vehicle
to a
person who is not an electronic dealer, the
person shall obtain a
physical certificate of title to the motorcycle or
vehicle in
order to transfer ownership of the vehicle to the
person who is
not an electronic dealer.
Sec. 4519.53. No person who acquires an off-highway
motorcycle
or all-purpose vehicle from the owner
thereof
of it,
if
whether the owner is a
manufacturer, importer,
or dealer,
or any
other person,
acquires any right, title,
claim, or interest in or
to the off-highway motorcycle or
all-purpose vehicle until the
person has been issued a certificate of title to
the off-highway
motorcycle or all-purpose vehicle, or
there is
delivered
to the
person a
manufacturer's or importer's certificate for it,
or a
certificate of title to it is assigned as authorized by section
4519.521
of the Revised Code. No waiver or estoppel
operates in
favor of
such
that person against a person having possession of
such
the certificate of title
to, or manufacturer's or
importer's
certificate for, the
off-highway motorcycle or all-purpose
vehicle, for a valuable
consideration. No court in any case at law or in equity shall recognize the
right,
title, claim, or interest of any person in or to any
off-highway
motorcycle or all-purpose vehicle sold or disposed of,
or mortgaged or
encumbered, unless evidenced by one of the
following: (A) A certificate of title or a
manufacturer's or importer's
certificate issued in accordance with this
chapter,
or an
assignment of a certificate of title made under
section 4519.521
of the Revised Code; (B) Admission in the pleadings or
stipulation of the
parties.
Sec. 4519.55. Application for a certificate of title for an
off-highway motorcycle or all-purpose vehicle shall be made upon a
form
prescribed by the registrar of motor vehicles
and shall be
sworn to before a
notary public or other officer empowered to
administer oaths. The application
shall be filed with the clerk
of
the
any court of common pleas
of the county in
which the
applicant resides if the applicant is a resident of this state or,
if not a resident, in the county in which the transaction is
consummated.
The.
An application for a certificate of title may
be filed
electronically by any electronic means approved by the
registrar in any county
with the clerk of the court of common
pleas of that county.
If an application for a
certificate of title is
filed
electronically by an electronic dealer on behalf of the
purchaser
of an off-highway motorcycle or all-purpose vehicle, the clerk
shall retain the completed electronic record to which the dealer
converted the certificate of title application and other required
documents. The electronic dealer shall retain the actual
application and all other documents relating to the sale for a
period of time specified by the registrar, and the dealer shall
make all of the documents available for inspection upon the
request of the registrar. The application shall be accompanied by the fee prescribed in
section
4519.59
of the Revised Code
and, if.
The fee shall be
retained by
the clerk who issues the certificate of title and
shall be distributed in
accordance with that section.
If a clerk
of a court of common pleas, other than the clerk of the court of
common pleas of an applicant's county of residence, issues a
certificate of
title to the applicant, the clerk shall transmit
data related to the
transaction to the database of the automated
data processing system in the
office of the clerk of the court of
common pleas of the applicant's county of
residence. If a certificate of title
previously has been
issued for
the
an off-highway motorcycle or all-purpose
vehicle, the application
also shall be accompanied by the certificate of title
duly
assigned, unless otherwise provided in this chapter. If a
certificate of
title previously has not been issued for the
off-highway
motorcycle or
all-purpose vehicle, the application,
unless otherwise provided in this
chapter,
shall be accompanied by
a manufacturer's or importer's certificate; by a
sworn statement
of ownership;
or by a certificate
of title, bill of sale, or other
evidence of ownership required by law of
another state from which
the off-highway motorcycle or
all-purpose
vehicle was brought into
this state. The registrar, in accordance with
Chapter 119. of the
Revised Code, shall prescribe
the types of additional
documentation sufficient to establish proof of ownership,
including, but not
limited to, receipts from the purchase of parts
or components, photographs,
and affidavits of other persons.
For For purposes of the transfer of a
certificate of
title, if
the clerk is satisfied that a secured party has duly discharged a
lien notation, but has not canceled the lien notation with the
clerk of the
county of origin, the clerk may cancel the lien
notation of the automated
title processing system and notify the
clerk of the county of origin. In the case of the sale of an off-highway motorcycle or
all-purpose vehicle by a dealer to a general purchaser or user,
the
certificate
of title shall be obtained in the name of the
purchaser by the dealer upon
application signed by the purchaser.
In all other cases, the
certificate shall
be obtained by the
purchaser. In all cases of transfer of an
off-highway motorcycle
or all-purpose vehicle, the application for
certificate
of title
shall be filed within thirty days after the later of the date of
purchase
or assignment of ownership of the off-highway motorcycle
or
all-purpose vehicle. If the application for certificate of
title is not filed
within thirty days after the later of the date
of purchase or assignment of
ownership of the off-highway
motorcycle or all-purpose vehicle,
the clerk shall charge a late
filing fee of five dollars in addition to the
fee
prescribed by
section 4519.59 of the Revised
Code. The clerk shall retain the
entire
amount of each late filing fee. Except in the case of an off-highway motorcycle or
all-purpose
vehicle purchased prior to
the effective date of this
section
July
1, 1999, the clerk shall
refuse to accept an
application for certificate of title unless the applicant
either
tenders with the application payment of all taxes levied by or
pursuant
to Chapter 5739. or 5741. of the Revised Code
based on
the purchaser's
county of residence,
or submits either of the
following: (A) A receipt issued by the tax
commissioner or a clerk of
courts showing payment of the tax; (B) An exemption certificate, in any form prescribed by the
tax
commissioner, that specifies why the purchase is not subject
to the tax
imposed by Chapter 5739. or 5741. of the Revised Code. Payment of the tax shall be made in accordance with division
(E)
of section 4505.06 of the Revised Code and any rules issued
by
the tax
commissioner. When a dealer submits payment of the tax to
the clerk,
the dealer shall retain any discount to which the
dealer is
entitled under section 5739.12 of the
Revised
Code. The
clerk shall issue a receipt in the form prescribed by
the
tax
commissioner to any applicant who tenders payment of the tax with
the
application for a certificate of title. If the application
for a certificate
of
title is for an off-highway motorcycle or
all-purpose vehicle
purchased prior to
the effective date of this
section
July
1, 1999, the clerk shall accept
the application
without payment of the taxes levied by or pursuant to
Chapter
5739. or 5741. of the
Revised Code
or presentation of either of
the items listed in division
(A) or (B) of
this section. For receiving and disbursing such taxes paid to the clerk,
the clerk may
retain a poundage
fee of one and one-hundredth per
cent of the taxes
collected,
which shall be
paid into the
certificate of title administration
fund created by section
325.33
of the Revised Code.
In
In the case of casual sales of
off-highway motorcycles or
all-purpose vehicles that are subject
to the tax imposed by
Chapter 5739. or 5741. of the
Revised Code,
the purchase price for
the purpose of determining the tax shall be the
purchase
price on
an affidavit executed and filed with the clerk by the seller on a
form
to be prescribed by the registrar, which shall be
prima-facie
evidence of the price for the determination of the tax.
In In addition to the
information required by section 4519.57 of
the
Revised Code,
each certificate of title shall contain in bold
lettering the following
notification and statements:
"WARNING TO
TRANSFEROR AND TRANSFEREE
(SELLER AND BUYER): You
are required by
law
to state the true selling
price. A false statement is in
violation of section 2921.13 of the Revised
Code and is punishable
by six months
imprisonment or a fine of up to one thousand
dollars, or both. All transfers
are audited by the department of
taxation. The seller and buyer must provide
any information
requested by the department of taxation. The buyer may be
assessed any additional tax found to be due." The clerk shall forward all payments of taxes, less
poundage
fees, to the
treasurer of state in a manner to be prescribed by
the tax commissioner and
shall furnish
such information to the
commissioner as the
commissioner may require. Every clerk shall have the capability to transact by
electronic means all
procedures and transactions relating to the
issuance of certificates of title
for off-highway motorcycles and
all-purpose vehicles that are described in the
Revised Code as
being accomplished by electronic means.
Sec. 4519.57.
The
When the clerk of
the
a court
of common
pleas
issues a physical certificate of title for an off-highway
motorcycle or all-purpose vehicle, the clerk shall issue
certificates of title for off-highway motorcycles and
all-purpose
vehicles
it over the clerk's official seal. The front side of
each
physical certificate
of title shall contain the
information
required in the application
therefor
for it as
prescribed by
section
4519.56 of the Revised
Code, spaces for the dates of
notation and cancellation of two liens, mortgages, or
encumbrances,
and any other pertinent information as may be
required
by the registrar of motor vehicles, but shall contain
neither
the social security number nor taxpayer identification
number of
the applicant. The reverse side of each
physical
certificate of title
shall contain all of the information
specified in division
(F) of section 4505.07 of the
Revised
Code.
An
assignment of certificate of title before a notary public or
other officer
empowered to administer oaths shall appear on the
reverse side of each
physical certificate of title in the form to
be prescribed by the
registrar
of motor
vehicles. The assignment
form shall include a warranty that the signer is the
owner of the
off-highway motorcycle or all-purpose vehicle and
that
there are
no mortgages, liens, or encumbrances on the off-highway
motorcycle
or all-purpose vehicle except as are noted on the face of the
certificate of title. Certificates
Physical certificates of title also shall bear a
statement that liens applicable to
the off-highway motorcycle or
all-purpose vehicle other than the
two for which there are spaces
on the
titles
certificates may
exist and, if so, are entered
into
the automated title processing system for motor vehicle titles.
Sec. 4519.58.
The
When the clerk of
the
a court
of common
pleas
issues a physical certificate of title, the clerk shall
issue
certificates
the certificate of title in duplicate. One
copy
shall be retained and filed by
the clerk in the clerk's
office, and the information contained in it shall be
transmitted
to the registrar of motor vehicles on the day it is issued. The
clerk shall sign and affix the clerk's seal to the original
certificate of
title and, if there are no liens on the off-highway
motorcycle or
all-purpose vehicle, shall deliver the certificate
to the applicant or the
selling dealer. Except as otherwise
provided in this section, if there are
one or more liens on the
off-highway motorcycle or all-purpose vehicle, the certificate of
title shall
be delivered to the holder of the first lien. If the
certificate
of title is obtained by a dealer on behalf of the
applicant and there are one
or more liens on the off-highway
motorcycle or all-purpose
vehicle, the clerk shall issue a
certificate of title and may issue a
memorandum certificate
of
title. The certificate of title and memorandum certificate of
title, if
issued, shall
be delivered to the holder of the first
lien or the selling dealer, who shall
deliver the certificate of
title to the
holder of the first lien and the memorandum
certificate of title to the
applicant. The selling dealer also
may make arrangements with the clerk to
have the clerk deliver the
memorandum certificate
of title to the applicant. The registrar shall prescribe a uniform method of numbering
certificates
of title. The numbering shall be in such manner that
the county of issuance
is indicated. Numbers shall be assigned to
certificates of title in the
manner prescribed by the registrar.
The clerk shall file all certificates of
title according to the
rules to be prescribed by the registrar, and the clerk
shall
maintain in the clerk's office indexes for the certificates of
title. The clerk need not retain on file any current certificates of
title,
current duplicate
certificates of title, current memorandum
certificates of title, or current
salvage certificates of title,
or supporting evidence
thereof
of them, including the
electronic
record described in section 4519.55 of
the Revised Code, covering
any
off-highway motorcycle or
all-purpose vehicle
for a period
longer than seven years after the
date of their filing;
thereafter,
the
same
documents and
supporting evidence may be
destroyed.
The clerk need not retain
on file any inactive
records,
including certificates of title,
duplicate certificates
of
title,
or memorandum certificates of
title, or supporting
evidence
thereof
of them, including the electronic record
described in section
4519.55 of the Revised Code, covering any
off-highway motorcycle
or all-purpose
vehicle for a period longer
than five years after
the date of
their filing; thereafter, the
same
documents and
supporting
evidence may be destroyed. The
clerk
shall retain the
active index and all active records in the
data
base of the
computer in the clerk's office, and shall retain
in
the data base
a record and index of all inactive titles for ten
years. If the
clerk provides a written copy of any information
contained in the
data base, the copy shall be considered the
original for purposes
of the clerk certifying the record of the
information for use in
any legal proceeding. The clerk shall issue a physical certificate of title to an
applicant unless the applicant specifically requests the clerk not
to issue a
physical certificate of title and instead to issue an
electronic certificate
of title.
The fact that a physical
certificate of title is
not issued for an off-highway motorcycle
or all-purpose vehicle does
not affect ownership of the motorcycle
or
vehicle. In that case, when the clerk completes the process of
entering certificate of title application information into the
automated title processing system, the effect of the completion of
the process is the same as if the clerk actually issued a physical
certificate of title for the motorcycle or vehicle. An electronic dealer who applies for a
certificate of title
on behalf of a customer who purchases an off-highway
motorcycle or
all-purpose vehicle
from the dealer may print a non-negotiable
evidence of
ownership for the customer if the customer so
requests. The
authorization to print the non-negotiable evidence
of ownership
shall come from the clerk with whom the dealer makes
application
for the certificate of title for the customer, but the
printing by
the dealer does not create an agency relationship of
any kind
between the dealer and the clerk.
Sec. 4519.59. (A) The clerk of
the
a court of common pleas
shall
charge a fee
of five dollars for each certificate of title,
duplicate certificate
of title, memorandum certificate of title,
authorization to print
a non-negotiable evidence of ownership
described in section 4519.58 of the Revised Code,
and notation of
any lien on a
certificate of title. The clerk shall retain two
dollars and twenty-five
cents
of the fee charged for each
certificate of title, four dollars and
seventy-five
cents of the
fee charged for each duplicate certificate of title,
all
of the
fees charged for each memorandum certificate
or authorization to
print a non-negotiable evidence of ownership, and four dollars and
twenty-five cents of the fee charged for each notation of a lien. The remaining two dollars and seventy-five cents charged for
the
certificate of title, the remaining twenty-five cents charged
for the
duplicate
certificate of title, and the remaining
seventy-five cents charged
for the notation of any lien on a
certificate of title shall be paid to the
registrar of motor
vehicles by monthly returns, which shall be forwarded to
the
registrar not later than the fifth day of the month next
succeeding that in
which the certificate is forwarded or that in
which the registrar is notified
of a lien or cancellation
thereof
of a lien. (B)(1) The
registrar shall pay twenty-five cents of the
amount received for
each certificate of title and all of the
amounts received for
each notation of any lien and each duplicate
certificate of
title into the state bureau of motor vehicles fund
established
in section 4501.25 of the
Revised
Code. (2) Fifty cents of the amount received for
each certificate
of title shall be paid by the registrar as
follows: (a) Four cents shall be
paid into the state treasury to the
credit of the motor vehicle
dealers board fund created in section
4505.09 of the
Revised
Code, for use as described in
division
(B)(2)(a)
of that section. (b) Twenty-one cents
shall be paid into the general revenue
fund. (c) Twenty-five cents
shall be paid into the state treasury
to the credit of the motor
vehicle sales audit fund created in
section 4505.09 of the
Revised
Code, for use as described in
division
(B)(2)(c)
of that section. (3) Two dollars of the amount received by
the registrar for
each certificate of title shall be paid into
the state treasury to
the credit of the automated title
processing fund created in
section 4505.09 of the
Revised
Code, for use as described in
division
divisions (B)(3)(a)
and
(c) of that section.
Sec. 4519.60. In the event of the transfer of ownership of
an
off-highway motorcycle or all-purpose vehicle by operation of
law, as upon
inheritance, devise
or, bequest, order in bankruptcy,
insolvency, replevin, or
execution of sale, or when repossession
is had upon default in performance of
the terms of a security
agreement as
provided in Chapter 1309. of the Revised Code,
the
a
clerk of
the
a court of common pleas
of
the county in which the
last
certificate of title to the off-highway motorcycle or
all-purpose
vehicle was issued, upon the surrender of the prior
certificate of title
or
the
manufacturer's or importer's
certificate, or, when that is not possible, upon
presentation to
the clerk of satisfactory proof of ownership and rights of
possession to
such
the off-highway motorcycle or all-purpose
vehicle,
and upon payment of the fee prescribed
in section 4519.59
of the Revised Code, and
presentation of an application for
certificate of title, may issue to the
applicant a
certificate of
title to the off-highway motorcycle or all-purpose
vehicle. Only
an affidavit by the person or agent of the person to whom
possession of the off-highway motorcycle or all-purpose vehicle
has
passed, setting forth the facts entitling
the person to
such
the possession and ownership, together with a
copy of the
journal
entry, court order, or instrument upon which the claim of
possession
and ownership is founded, is satisfactory proof of
ownership and right of
possession. If the applicant cannot
produce
such
that proof of
ownership, the
applicant may apply
directly to the registrar of motor vehicles and submit
the
evidence the applicant has, and the registrar, upon finding the
evidence sufficient, may authorize the clerk to issue a
certificate of title.
If, from the records in the office of the
clerk, there appears to be any lien
on the off-highway motorcycle
or all-purpose vehicle, the
certificate of title shall contain a
statement of the lien unless the
application is accompanied by
proper evidence of its extinction.
Sec. 4519.61. (A) Each owner of an off-highway
motorcycle
or
all-purpose vehicle and each person mentioned as owner in the
last certificate
of title, when the off-highway motorcycle or
all-purpose vehicle
is dismantled, destroyed, or changed in such
manner that it loses its
character
as an off-highway motorcycle or
all-purpose vehicle, or changed in
such manner that it is not the
off-highway motorcycle or
all-purpose
vehicle described in the
certificate of title, shall surrender the
certificate of title to
the
a clerk of
the
a court
of common pleas
who issued it,
and
thereupon the clerk, with the consent of the holders of any liens
noted
thereon,
on the certificate of title, then shall enter a
cancellation upon the clerk's records and shall notify
the
registrar of motor vehicles of the cancellation. Upon the cancellation of a certificate of title in the manner
prescribed
by this section, the clerk and the registrar may cancel
and destroy all
certificates and all memorandum certificates in
that chain of title. (B) Where an Ohio certificate of title or
salvage
certificate of title to an off-highway
motorcycle or all-purpose
vehicle is assigned to a salvage
dealer, the dealer shall not be
required to obtain an
Ohio certificate of title or a
salvage
certificate of title to the off-highway
motorcycle or all-purpose
vehicle in the dealer's own name if the dealer
dismantles or
destroys the off-highway motorcycle
or all-purpose vehicle,
completes the assignment on the
certificate of title or salvage
certificate of title, indicates
the number of the dealer's motor
vehicle salvage dealer's
license thereon, marks
"FOR DESTRUCTION"
across the face of the
certificate of title or salvage certificate
of title, and
surrenders the certificate of title or salvage
certificate of
title to
the
a clerk of
the
a court of common
pleas
as provided in
division (A) of this section. If the salvage
dealer retains the
off-highway
motorcycle or all-purpose vehicle
for resale, the salvage
dealer shall make application for a
salvage certificate of title
to the off-highway motorcycle or
all-purpose
vehicle in the salvage dealer's own name as provided
in division
(C)(1) of this section. (C)(1) When an insurance
company declares it economically
impractical to repair the
off-highway motorcycle or all-purpose
vehicle and
has paid an agreed price for the purchase of the
off-highway motorcycle or all-purpose vehicle to any insured or
claimant owner, the insurance company shall receive the
certificate of title and off-highway motorcycle or
all-purpose
vehicle and
proceed
as follows. Within thirty days, the insurance
company shall
deliver the certificate of title to
the
a clerk of
the
a court of
common pleas and shall make application for a
salvage
certificate of title. The clerk shall issue the salvage
certificate of title on a form, prescribed by the registrar,
that
shall be easily distinguishable from the
original certificate of
title and shall bear the same number and
information as the
original certificate of title. Except as provided in
division
(C)(2) of this section, the salvage
certificate of title shall be
assigned by the insurance company
to a salvage dealer or any other
person for use as evidence of
ownership upon the sale or other
disposition of the
off-highway motorcycle or all-purpose vehicle,
and the salvage
certificate of title shall be transferable to any
other person.
The clerk of the court of common pleas shall charge
a fee of
four dollars for the cost of processing each salvage
certificate
of title. (2) If an insurance company considers an
off-highway
motorcycle or all-purpose vehicle as described in
division (C)(1)
of this section
to be impossible to restore to normal operation,
the insurance
company may assign the certificate of title to the
off-highway motorcycle or all-purpose vehicle to a salvage
dealer
or scrap metal processing facility and send the assigned
certificate of title to the clerk of the court of common pleas
of
the county in which the salvage dealer or scrap metal
processing
facility is located. The insurance company shall mark
the face of
the certificate of title
"FOR DESTRUCTION" and shall
deliver a
photocopy of the certificate of title to the salvage
dealer or
scrap metal processing facility for its records. (3) If an insurance company declares it economically
impractical to repair an off-highway motorcycle
of
or
all-purpose
vehicle, agrees to pay to the insured or claimant
owner an amount
in settlement of a claim against a policy of
motor vehicle
insurance covering the off-highway
motorcycle or all-purpose
vehicle, and agrees to permit the
insured or claimant owner to
retain possession of the
off-highway motorcycle or all-purpose
vehicle, the
insurance company shall not pay the insured or
claimant owner
any amount in settlement of the insurance claim
until the owner
obtains a salvage certificate of title to the
vehicle and
furnishes a copy of the salvage certificate of title
to the
insurance company. (D) When a self-insured
organization, rental or leasing
company, or secured creditor
becomes the owner of an off-highway
motorcycle or
all-purpose vehicle that is burned, damaged, or
dismantled and
is determined to be economically impractical to
repair, the
self-insured organization, rental or leasing company,
or secured
creditor shall do one of the following: (1) Mark the face of the certificate of title to the
off-highway motorcycle or all-purpose vehicle
"FOR
DESTRUCTION"
and surrender the certificate of title to
the
a clerk
of
the
a
court of common pleas for cancellation as described in
division
(A) of this section.
The self-insured organization, rental or
leasing company, or
secured creditor
thereupon
then shall deliver
the
off-highway motorcycle or all-purpose vehicle, together with a
photocopy of the certificate of title, to a salvage dealer or
scrap metal processing facility and shall cause the
off-highway
motorcycle or all-purpose vehicle to be dismantled,
flattened,
crushed, or destroyed. (2) Obtain a salvage certificate of title to the
off-highway
motorcycle or all-purpose vehicle in
the name of the self-insured
organization, rental or leasing
company, or secured creditor, as
provided in division
(C)(1) of this section, and
then sell or
otherwise dispose of the off-highway
motorcycle or all-purpose
vehicle. If the off-highway
motorcycle or all-purpose vehicle is
sold, the self-insured organization, rental or leasing company,
or
secured creditor shall obtain a salvage certificate of title
to
the off-highway motorcycle or all-purpose
vehicle in the name of
the purchaser from the clerk of the court
of common pleas of the
county in which the purchaser
resides. (E) If an
off-highway motorcycle or all-purpose vehicle
titled with a
salvage certificate of title is restored for
operation, application shall be
made to
the
a clerk of
the
a court
of
common pleas for a certificate of title after inspection by the
state highway patrol. The inspection shall include establishing
proof of
ownership and an inspection of the motor number and
vehicle
identification number of the off-highway motorcycle
or
all-purpose vehicle and of documentation or receipts for the
materials used in restoration by the owner of the
off-highway
motorcycle or all-purpose vehicle being inspected,
which
documentation or receipts shall be presented at the time
of
inspection. Upon successful completion of the inspection, the
state
highway patrol shall issue to the owner a completed
inspection
form. The clerk, upon submission of the completed
inspection form and
surrender of the salvage
certificate of title,
shall issue a certificate of title for a
fee prescribed by the
registrar. The certificate of title shall
be in the same form as
the original certificate of title, shall
bear the same number as
the salvage certificate of title and the
original certificate of
title, and shall bear the words
"REBUILT SALVAGE" in black
boldface letters on its face. Every subsequent certificate of
title, memorandum certificate of title, or certified copy of a
certificate of title or memorandum certificate of title issued
for
the off-highway motorcycle or all-purpose
vehicle also shall bear
the words
"REBUILT
SALVAGE" in black boldface letters on its face.
The exact location on
the face of the certificate of title of
the
words
"REBUILT SALVAGE" shall be determined by the registrar,
who
shall develop an
automated procedure within the automated title
processing system
to comply with this division. The clerk shall
use reasonable
care in performing the duties imposed on the clerk
by this
division in issuing a certificate of title pursuant to
this
division, but the clerk is not liable for errors or omissions
of
the clerk of courts, the clerk's deputies, or the automated
title processing system in the performance of such duties. A
fee
of fifty dollars shall be assessed by the state
highway patrol for
each inspection made pursuant to this
division. (F) No
off-highway motorcycle or all-purpose vehicle the
certificate
of title to which has been marked
"FOR DESTRUCTION"
and
surrendered to
the
a clerk of
the
a court of
common pleas
shall be
used for anything except parts and scrap metal.
Sec. 4519.62. In the event of a lost or destroyed
certificate of title,
application shall be made to
the
a clerk of
the
a
court of common pleas
of the
county where the certificate of
title was issued, by the owner of the
off-highway motorcycle or
all-purpose vehicle, or the holder of a
lien
thereon
on it, for a
certified copy of the certificate,
upon a form prescribed
by the
registrar of motor vehicles and accompanied by the fee prescribed
by
section 4519.59 of the Revised Code. The application shall be
signed and
sworn
to by the person making the application, and the
clerk shall issue a certified
copy of the certificate of title to
the person entitled to receive it under
this chapter. The
certified copy shall be plainly marked across its face with
the
word
"duplicate," and any subsequent purchaser of the
off-highway
motorcycle or all-purpose vehicle in the chain of title
originating through
the certified copy acquires only such rights
in the off-highway
motorcycle or all-purpose vehicle as the
original holder of the certified
copy had. Any purchaser of the
off-highway motorcycle or
all-purpose vehicle, at the time of
purchase, may require the seller of the
same to indemnify the
purchaser and all subsequent purchasers of the
off-highway
motorcycle or all-purpose vehicle against any loss
that
the
purchaser or subsequent purchasers may suffer by reason of any
claim
presented upon the original certificate. In the event of
the recovery of the
original certificate of title by
said
the
owner, the owner shall
surrender
forthwith the original
certificate of title
it immediately to the
clerk for
cancellation. The holder of a certificate of title for an off-highway
motorcycle
or all-purpose vehicle upon which is noted an existing
lien, encumbrance, or
mortgage, may make application at any time
to
the
a clerk
who
issued the
certificate of title for a
memorandum certificate, which application shall
be
made in the
form prescribed by the registrar and signed and sworn to by the
applicant. Upon receipt of the application, if it appears to be
correct,
together with the fee prescribed by section 4519.59 of
the Revised Code, the
clerk shall
issue to the applicant a
memorandum certificate for the
off-highway motorcycle or
all-purpose vehicle.
In the event
If
the memorandum
certificate
is
lost or destroyed, the holder
thereof
of it may obtain a
certified
copy of
the
same
it upon the filing of an application
with the
clerk on a form
prescribed by the registrar
and,
accompanied by
the fee
prescribed in section 4519.59 of the
Revised Code. The
memorandum
certificate is not
assignable and
constitutes no
evidence of title or of right to transfer or
encumber the
off-highway motorcycle or all-purpose vehicle
described
therein
in
it.
Sec. 4519.631. The registrar of motor vehicles shall enable
the
public to access off-highway motorcycle and all-purpose
vehicle title
information via electronic means.
The registrar, in
accordance with Chapter 119. of the
Revised
Code, shall adopt
rules governing this access. In adopting the
rules, the
registrar
shall confer with the clerks of the courts of common
pleas.
Access
by the public to off-highway motorcycle and
all-purpose
vehicle
title information under this section shall
comply with all
restrictions
contained in the Revised Code and
federal law that
govern
the disclosure of that information.
Sec. 4519.66. No person shall do any of the following: (A) Operate in this state an off-highway motorcycle
or
all-purpose vehicle without having a certificate of title
for the
off-highway
motorcycle or all-purpose vehicle, if such a
certificate is required by this
chapter to be issued for the
off-highway motorcycle or all-purpose
vehicle,
or, if a physical
certificate of title has not been issued
for it, operate an
off-highway motorcycle or all-purpose vehicle knowing that
the
ownership information relating to the motorcycle or vehicle has
not been
entered into the automated title processing system by a
clerk of a court of
common pleas; (B) Operate in this state an off-highway motorcycle
or
all-purpose vehicle if a certificate of title to the off-highway
motorcycle or
all-purpose vehicle has been issued and then has
been canceled; (C) Fail to surrender any certificate of title upon
cancellation
of
the same
it by the registrar of motor vehicles and
notice
thereof
of the cancellation as
prescribed in this chapter; (D) Fail to surrender the certificate of title to
the
a
clerk
of
the
a
court of common pleas as provided in this chapter,
in case of the destruction
or dismantling of, or change in, the
off-highway motorcycle or
all-purpose vehicle described in the
certificate of title; (E) Violate
any provision of sections 4519.51 to 4519.70 of
the Revised Code for which no penalty
is otherwise provided or
any
lawful rules
promulgated
adopted pursuant to
those
sections; (F) Operate in this state an off-highway motorcycle or
all-purpose vehicle knowing that the certificate of title to or
ownership of
the motorcycle or vehicle as otherwise reflected in
the automated title
processing system has been canceled.
Sec. 4519.67. No person shall do any of the following: (A) Procure or attempt to procure a certificate of title to
an
off-highway motorcycle or all-purpose vehicle, or pass or
attempt
to pass a certificate of title or any assignment
thereof
of a
certificate of title to an
off-highway motorcycle or
all-purpose vehicle,
or in any other manner gain
or
attempt to
gain ownership to an off-highway motorcycle or all-purpose
vehicle, knowing or having reason to
believe that the off-highway
motorcycle or all-purpose vehicle
has been stolen; (B) Sell or offer for sale in this state an
off-highway
motorcycle or all-purpose vehicle on which the manufacturer's or
assigned
vehicle identification number has been destroyed,
removed, covered, altered,
or defaced with knowledge of the
destruction, removal, covering, alteration,
or defacement of the
manufacturer's or assigned vehicle identification
number; (C)
Sell
Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, sell
or transfer an off-highway motorcycle or
all-purpose vehicle
without delivering to the purchaser or transferee
thereof
of it
a
certificate of title, or a manufacturer's or importer's
certificate
thereto
to it,
assigned to the purchaser as provided
for in this chapter.
Sec. 4519.68. (A)(1) Chapter 1309. of the Revised Code does
not permit or
require the deposit,
filing, or other record of a
security interest covering an off-highway
motorcycle or
all-purpose vehicle, except as provided
in division
(A)(2) of this
section. (2)
Sections 1309.01 to 1309.50
Chapter 1309. of the
Revised
Code
apply
applies to a security
interest in an off-highway
motorcycle or all-purpose vehicle
held as inventory, as defined in
division
(D) of section 1309.07 of the
Revised
Code, for sale by a
dealer.
The security interest has priority over creditors of the
dealer
as provided in
sections 1309.01 to 1309.50
Chapter 1309. of
the
Revised
Code without notation of the
security interest on a
certificate of title,
without entry of a
notation of the security
interest into the automated title processing system
if a physical
certificate of title has not been issued, or without
the
retention
of a manufacturer's or importer's certificate. (B) Subject to
division (A) of this
section,
any security
agreement covering a security interest in an
off-highway
motorcycle or all-purpose vehicle,
if a notation of the
agreement
has been made by
the
a clerk of
the
a
court of common pleas on the
face
of the certificate of title
or if the clerk has entered a
notation of the
agreement into the automated title processing
system if a physical
certificate of title has not been issued, is
valid as against the
creditors of
the debtor,
whether armed with
process or not, and against subsequent purchasers, secured
parties, and other lienholders or claimants. All security
interests, liens,
mortgages, and
encumbrances
noted upon
entered
into the automated title processing
system in relation to a
particular certificate of title, regardless of whether
or not a
physical certificate of title
is issued,
take priority according
to the order of time in which they are
noted thereon
entered into
the automated title processing system by the clerk.
Exposure for
sale of any off-highway motorcycle or all-purpose
vehicle by its
owner, with the knowledge or with the knowledge and
consent of the
holder of any security interest, lien, mortgage, or encumbrance
thereon
on it, does not
render the security interest, lien,
mortgage, or encumbrance ineffective as
against the creditors
of
the owner, or against holders of subsequent security interests,
liens,
mortgages, or
encumbrances upon the off-highway motorcycle
or all-purpose
vehicle. The secured party, upon presentation of
the
evidence of a
security
agreement
interest to
the
a clerk
of
the
a court of
common pleas
of the county in which the
certificate of title
was
issued, together with the certificate of title
if a
physical
certificate of title for the off-highway motorcycle or all-purpose
vehicle exists, and the fee prescribed by
section 4519.59 of the
Revised Code,
may have a notation of the security interest made on
the
face of the
certificate of title, and, if such a notation is
made, another notation
of the
lien
security interest shall
be
entered into the automated title processing system
for motor
vehicle
titles.
The
Unless the secured party specifically
requests
the
clerk not to issue a physical certificate of title
and instead
to issue an
electronic certificate of title, the
clerk, over the
clerk's signature and seal of office,
shall issue
a new original
certificate of title from the
automated title
processing system
that indicates the security
interest and the
date of the security
interest. When the
If a security interest is discharged
and the holder
of the security interest holds a physical certificate of title,
the holder
thereof
of the security interest shall note
the
its
discharge
over the holder's signature on the face of the
certificate of title
or over the holder's signature on a form
prescribed by the registrar of motor
vehicles when there is no
space for the discharge on the face of the
certificate of title.
Prior to delivering the certificate
of title to
the owner, the
holder or the holder's agent shall present it and any
additional
information the clerk requires to the
clerk to have the clerk note
the cancellation of the security interest on the
face of the
certificate of title and upon the records of the clerk.
If the
cancellation
appears to be genuine, the clerk shall note the
cancellation on the
certificate of title and also shall note the
cancellation on
the clerk's records and notify the registrar, who
shall note the cancellation.
If a security interest that is
discharged does not appear on the face
of the certificate
of
title, but instead was entered into the automated title processing
system
for motor vehicles, the clerk shall enter the cancellation
into the
automated
title processing system and also shall note the
cancellation on a form
prescribed by the registrar.
(C) If a physical certificate of title has not been issued
for
an off-highway motorcycle or all-purpose vehicle and all the
security
interests relating to that motorcycle or vehicle
have
been discharged, the owner of the motorcycle or vehicle may obtain
a
physical
certificate of title from the clerk of any court of
common pleas upon payment
of the fee specified in section 4519.59
of the Revised
Code.
(D) If a clerk of a court of common pleas, other than the
clerk
of the court of common pleas of the county in which the
owner of an
off-highway motorcycle or all-purpose vehicle resides,
enters a notation of
the existence of, or the cancellation
of, a
security interest relating to the off-highway motorcycle or
all-purpose
vehicle, the clerk shall
transmit the data relating to
the notation to the database of the automated
data processing
system in the office of the clerk of the court of common pleas
of
the county of the owner's residence.
Section 2. That existing sections 1548.01, 1548.02, 1548.03,
1548.06, 1548.07, 1548.08, 1548.09, 1548.11, 1548.12,
1548.13,
1548.17, 1548.18, 1548.19, 1548.20, 4501.01,
4503.182, 4505.03,
4505.04,
4505.06,
4505.08, 4505.09, 4505.10, 4505.102, 4505.11,
4505.12,
4505.13,
4505.18, 4505.181, 4505.19, 4505.20, 4519.01,
4519.51,
4519.52, 4519.53,
4519.55, 4519.57, 4519.58, 4519.59,
4519.60,
4519.61, 4519.62, 4519.66,
4519.67, and 4519.68 of the
Revised
Code are hereby repealed.
Section 3. (A) The Registrar of Motor
Vehicles shall adopt
rules that establish a pilot program to
appoint limited authority
deputy registrars. Notwithstanding division (B)(1)
of section
4503.03 of the Revised Code, the Registrar may appoint the clerk
of a court of common pleas as a limited authority deputy registrar
under the
program. Each limited
authority deputy registrar
appointed under the program shall
conduct only initial and
transfer motor vehicle registration
transactions via electronic
means, and VIN inspections, in a manner approved in
the
rules that
the Registrar adopts, is entitled to collect and retain a
fee of
$2.25 for each transaction or inspection that the limited
authority deputy
registrar conducts, and shall collect all fees
and taxes that are
required by law and related to the transactions
or inspections in a manner
approved by the Registrar. A limited
authority deputy registrar appointed under the program is not
subject to the
contribution
limitations contained in division (B)
of section 4503.03 of the
Revised Code or to the filing
requirement contained in division
(A) of section 4503.033 of the
Revised Code.
(B) The Registrar shall adopt the rules required by division
(A)
of this section not later than 30 days after the effective
date of
this section. (C) The Registrar shall make recommendations, not later than
twenty-four months after the effective date of this section, to
the Governor, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and
President of the Senate
regarding the success of the pilot program
established under division (A) of this section and the feasibility
of establishing a permanent system of limited authority deputy
registrars.
Section 4. (A) The Legislative Service Commission shall
conduct a study of
both of the following:
(1) The effect of this act on customer service in the
issuance of
certificates of title; (2) The fiscal impact of this act, including, but not
limited
to, its impact
on the collection of state and local
permissive
sales and use taxes and on
balances in county
certificate of title
administration funds. (B) The Commission, in conducting the study described in
division (A) of this
section, may seek the assistance of state
agencies, political subdivisions,
and organizations such as the
County Commissioners Association of Ohio, the Ohio
Clerk of Courts
Association, and the Ohio Automobile Dealers Association.
Section 5. Section 1548.07 of the Revised Code is presented
in
this act as a composite of the section as amended by both Sub.
H.B. 458 and Am. Sub. S.B. 182 of
the 120th General Assembly. The
General Assembly, applying the
principle stated in division (B) of
section 1.52 of the Revised
Code that amendments are to be
harmonized if reasonably capable of
simultaneous operation, finds
that the composite is the resulting
version of the section in
effect prior to the effective date of
the section as presented in
this act.
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